MXPA05010043A

MXPA05010043A - Polyamide-polyether block copolymer.

Info

Publication number: MXPA05010043A
Application number: MXPA05010043A
Authority: MX
Inventors: S Pavlin Mark
Original assignee: Arizona Chem
Priority date: 2003-03-20
Filing date: 2004-02-20
Publication date: 2005-11-17
Also published as: US20060052576A1; EP1606334B1; US8119741B2; US8114424B2; EP1606334A1; US8114387B2; CA2518271C; CN100586986C; WO2004083280A1; JP5255597B2; US20100063165A1; JP4553896B2; US20090082460A1; US6956099B2; US20090076175A1; JP2010215919A; CA2518271A1; US20100166691A1; ES2729823T3; WO2004083280A8

Abstract

Copolymers having linked internal polyether blocks and internal polyamide blocks have advantageous physical properties and solvent-gelling abilities. The copolymer may be prepared from a reaction mixture that contains 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) and poly(alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA). Optionally, the reaction mixture contains no monofunctional compound reactive with either amine or carboxylic acid groups, however some of this monofunctional compound may be present. Dimer diamine and/or dimer acid may be present in the reaction mixture. A copolymer may also be prepared from a reaction mixture containing dimer acid and at least two diamine compound(s) including PAODA and short-chain aliphatic diamine having 2-6 carbons (SDA), wherein: a) the reaction mixture comprises x grams of PAODA and y grams of SDA, and x/(x+y) is 0.8-0.98; b) the reaction mixture weighs z grams, and x/z is at least 0.25; and c) the reaction mixture contains either no co-diacid, or comprises a small amount of co-diacid, wherein, if the reaction mixture comprises a small amount of co-diacid, then acid equivalents from co-diacid contribute less than 25% of the total acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture.

Description

COPOLÍ ERO OF POLYAMIDE-POLYETER BLOCK BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to polyamide-polyether block copolymers and the use of polyamide-polyether block copolymers as gelators for liquids, in, for example, air fresheners and personal care products.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART In many commercially important compositions, the consistency of the product is critical to its commercial success. An example is personal care products, which generally contain one or more active ingredients within a carrier formulation. Although the active ingredient (s) determine the utility of the final performance of the product, the carrier formulation is critical to the commercial success of the product in that it greatly determines the consistency of the product. The rheology of the carrier or "base" greatly determines the manner in which the consumer will apply or use the product. Many commercial and commercial products depend on the availability of materials called "gelling agents" that have the ability to modify various rheological properties, to allow the formulation of a successful product. Frequently, it is desired that the products be "gels", since they keep their shape when they are not disturbed but they flow when shared. Clear gelled carriers are especially desired by fomulators that develop the products wherein a dye is an active ingredient, for example in a lip gloss or blush, because a transparent carrier (as opposed to an opaque carrier), will interfere with minimum, if not totally, with the appearance of the coloring. In recent years, consumers have shown an increasing preference for colorless and transparent personal care products such as deodorants and shampoos. The patent literature contains many descriptions of polyamide compositions, processes for their preparation, and their many uses. The following patents list 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) as one of the diacid raw materials that can be used to prepare a polyamide. U.S. Patent UU No. 3,950,310 to Bouboulis (1976), discloses polyamides suitable for use as fibers and molding compounds by reacting a dicarboxylic acid with a cyclohexane-bis (beta-ethylamine). Although it is mentioned that the diacid can be CHDA, this is not a preferred diacid. U.S. Patent No. 4,21 8,351 for Rasmussen (1980), describes the preparation of thermoplastic, impact resistant polyamides having from about 58 to about 95 mol% of short chain diacid portions. A list of possible diacids is provided, wherein the list includes any of the CHDA isomers. Other compounds used to make the polyamide are 5 to 30 mol% dimer acid, and 0.25 to 12.5 mol% of polyamide forming oligomer, which may be polyether diamines such as JEFFAMINE ™ -2000. The polyamides are set to suit well for use as molten adhesives, ie, in adhesive formulations that do not contain organic solvent. U.S. Patent No. 4,223, 127 Meyer et al. (1980), discloses polyamides suitable for use in the formation of fibers, films and molded objects prepared by reacting a lactam and a dicarboxylic acid with a diamino dicyclohexylmethane. One of the dicarboxylic acids listed is CHDA. U.S. Patent UU No. 4,293,668 to Campbell (1981), describes polyamides useful for making fibers. The polyamides are prepared from 5-methyl-1,9-nonane diamine and CHDA. U.S. Patent No. 4,398,012 for Merrill et al. (1983), describes copolyamides to be used as molding compounds prepared by co-reacting a lactam, a cyclic dicarboxylic acid, and a cyclic diamine. The dicarboxylic acid can be CHDA. U.S. Patent UU No. 4,471, 088 for Chiba et al. (1984), describes copolyamides to be used as molding compounds with high rigidity and excellent dimensional stability. These copolyamides are prepared by reacting CHDA and a diamine having 1 to 13 carbon atoms.

U.S. Patent UU No. 4,921, 932 for Tamura et al. (1990), describes copolyamides useful as molding compounds prepared by reacting a lactam, a dimerized fatty diacid, a monocarboxylic acid, an optional co-diacid which can be CHDA, and a diamine, US Pat. UU No. 5,773,558 to Torre (1998), describes polyamides useful as molding compounds having high stiffness, solvent resistance, and high heat resistance. These polyamides are prepared by reacting CHDA with an aliphatic diamine. The following are U.S. Patent Nos. Examples describing specific polyamides as gelling agents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,615,289 to Avon Products (1971), describes compositions suitable for burning as a candle consisting of a polymerized fatty acid polyamide blended with an alkanolamide and an ester of stearic acid. U.S. Patent No. 3,819,342 to Avon Products (1974), describes compositions suitable for burning as a candle consisting of a polymerized fatty acid polyamide blended with a fatty alcohol and having what is described as a "gel-like structure". U.S. Patent UU No. 4,552,693 to Avon Products (1985), discloses compositions suitable for releasing a fragrance consisting of a polymerized fatty acid polyamide blended with a sulfonamide plasticizer, a fragrance, a surfactant, and a mineral oil. The polyamide comprises 60-65% by weight of the article. U.S. Patent UU No. 5,783,657 to Union Camp Corporation (1998) discloses dimer acid-based polyamide compositions that dissolve in non-polar liquids such as mineral oil and, when cooled to room temperature, form clear, firm gels. The compositions are specific in that they require that they contain an amount of ester groups and, furthermore, that these esters must be located at the ends of the polymer chain. U.S. Patent No. 5,998,570 for Union Camp Corporation (1999), "Ester-Terminated Polyamides Of Polymerized Fatty Acids Useful In Formulating Transparent Gels In Low Polarity Liquids." UU No. 5,882,363 to The Noville Corp. (1999), describes compositions suitable for burning as a candle consisting of about 40-70% by weight of a polyamide blended with an ester of 12-hydroxystearic acid. The polyamide is not described in detail but is described as a "gellant" and is selected from two classes: nylon terpolymers (DuPont Elvamides) and those made from dimer acid (Henkel Corp. VERSAMID ™ resins or Union Camp Corp. resins UNI- REZ ™). U.S. Patent No. 6, 1 1 1, 055 for Union Camp Corporation and Bush Boake Alien (2000), contains a description aimed at gelatin polyamide agents useful for preparing candles, flammable objects, etc.

U.S. Patent No. 6,268,466 (2001) for Arizona Chemical Company, discloses a dimer acid polyamide which can be dissolved in non-polar liquids, such as mineral oil and forms transparent gels upon cooling. The compositions are specific in that they require that the polymer chains be terminated with tertiary amide groups. U.S. Patent No. 6,399,713 to Arizona Chemical Company (2002) describes polyamide gelling agents (designated PAOPAs, for poly (alkylene oxide) -completed polyamides, consisting of the reaction product of dimer acid, ethylene diamine (EDA), a poly (oxyethylene / diamine) diamine. propylene) and a poly (oxyethylene / propylene) monoamine monoamine Dimer diamine has been described as a component for preparing certain polyamides For example, U.S. Patent No. 4,018,731 to Foster Grant Co. (1977), describes High impact polyamide resins prepared by reacting an amino carboxylic acid, a lactam, a mixture of a diacid and a diamine, and a diolefin polymer functionalized by acid or amine. U.S. Patent No. 4,018,733 to Raychem Corporation (1977), discloses melt adhesive compositions comprising an ethylene acid polymer blended with a polyamide. The polyamide is preferably prepared from at least 60% dimer acid and diamine selected from an aliphatic diamine group including polyether diamine and dimer diamine. Although certain polyamide resins have the ability to function as gelling agents for organic solvents, a need remains in the art for compounds that gel liquids, especially polar liquids, to provide gels of varying degrees of hardness and strength, especially at relatively low concentrations of water. gelante agent. The present invention is directed to meet this need and provides additional advantages as more fully described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides polyamide block copolymers having significant amounts of linked inner polyether blocks and bonded fatty blocks, so that the copolymers have advantageous physical properties and gelatinibility. In one aspect, the copolymers of the present invention have a higher softening point than the materials known in the art and therefore form gels that maintain their shape at elevated temperatures in a better way than the gels formed from gelatins having softening points. relatively inferior. Also, the copolymers of the present invention typically function more effectively at low concentrations compared to the gelators described in the prior art. Additionally, the preferred copolymers of this invention possess higher molecular weights than the gelatin polyamides of the prior art so that their gels, in the evaporation of the bulky gel liquid, produce a flexible, strong film. Additionally, the copolymers of the present invention often produce viscoelastic gels (ie, gelation agents can function as "thickeners" instead of "gelatin" in some solvents, especially glycol ethers), as well as hard gels and soft having a more solid consistency. In one aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer. The copolymer has a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C. The copolymer is formed from a reaction mixture, wherein the reaction mixture comprises one or more diacid compound (s) including 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more compound (s) of diamines including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA). The reaction mixture contains no monofunctional compound reactive with either the amine or the carboxylic acid group. In one embodiment, the diamine compound (s) also includes (n) diamine dimer. In another embodiment, the diacid compound (s) further includes polymerized fatty acid. In another aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 1 80 ° C. The block copolymer is formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compound (s) including 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkylenoxy) di'amine (PAODA). The reaction mixture also contains one or more multifunctional compound (s) that are reactive with carboxylic acid groups. In one embodiment, the diamine compound (s) also includes (n) diamine dimer. In another embodiment, the diacid compound (s) further includes (n) polymerized fatty acid. In another aspect, the present invention provides a polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C. The copolymer is formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compound (s) including 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine ( PAODA). The reaction mixture also includes one or more multifunctional compound (s) that are reactive with amine groups. In one embodiment, the diamine compound (s) further include dimer diamine. In another embodiment, the diacid compound (s) further include polymerized fatty acid. Although the softening point of the resin can be from 60 ° C to 180 ° C, optionally the softening point is between 100 ° C and 140 ° C. As another additional aspect, CHDA may be the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixtures described above. As a further aspect, CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s) in each of the reaction mixtures described above. Optionally, when the polymerized fatty acid is present in the reaction mixture, the polymerized fatty acid provides less than 25% of the equivalents of the acid groups attributed to the diacid compound (s). In an optional embodiment, the reaction mixture may include a dihydric compound. Poly (alkyleneoxy) dialcohol is the dihydric compound in one aspect of the invention, wherein optionally the poly (alkyleneoxy) dialcohol compound is present in the reaction mixture in an amount of less than 40% eq of the total equivalents of amine and hydroxyl present in the reaction mixture. Unless otherwise specified, each of the reaction mixtures may contain co-diacid, wherein in one aspect the co-diacid is selected from the group consisting of adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, isoephthalic acid, dodecanedioic acid, and 1,3-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid. In one embodiment, and unless otherwise specified, PAODA is the only diamine compound present in the reaction mixture. When PAODA is not the only diamine compound present in the reaction mixture, then in an optional aspect PAODA provides at least 20% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s) present in the reaction mixture. Optionally, PAODA includes PAODA compounds having molecular weights between 400 and 5,000. Optionally, the diamine compound (s) present in the reaction mixture exclude diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl. A small amount of such diamines may be present in the mixture, so that in an aspect where the diamine compound (s) include diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl, these diamines provide less than 10% of the amine equivalents attributed to diamine compound (s). Optionally, the copolymer of the present invention has a weight average molecular weight of between 10,000 and 40,000, as measured using gel permeation chromatography with polystyrene as reference standards. Some specific structures for the copolymers that can be prepared according to the present invention are: A compound of the formula (3): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a polyalkylenoxide moiety; R 4 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyalkylenoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 1 00; and n is an integer of at least 1 1; a compound of the formula (4): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a polyalkylenoxide moiety; R5 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyalkylenoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 100; and n is an integer of at least 1 1; and a compound of the formula (5): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a polyalkylenoxide moiety; R3 is a hydrocarbon group having at least 2 carbons; and n is an integer of at least 1 1. In one aspect, the copolymer of the present invention has a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C; is prepared from a reaction mixture wherein CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to diacid compound (s); polymerized fatty acid is present in the reaction mixture, however the polymerized fatty acid components provide less than 25% of the acid group equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s), and PAODA provides at least 20% the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s). In another aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture. The reaction mixture comprises one or more diacid compound (s) including polymerized fatty acid, and at least two diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA) and short chain aliphatic diamine having 2-6 carbons (SDA). This reaction mixture x grams of PAODA and grams of SDA, so that x / (x + y) is 0.8-0.98. Also, the reaction mixture weighs z grams, so that x / z is at least 0.25. Also, the reaction mixture contains either no co-diacid, or comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, wherein, if the reaction mixture comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, then the co-diacid acid equivalents they contribute less than 25% of the total acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture. Optionally, the softening point of the copolymer is between 100 ° C and 140 ° C; Polymerized fatty acid is the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixture; co-diacid is present in the reaction mixture, however, co-diacid contributes less than 10% of the total acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture; PAODA and SDA together constitute at least 95% by weight of the compound diamines present in the reaction mixture; the diamine compound (s) include poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine having a molecular weight of at least 400 g / mol; x / z is at least 0.3; and / or x / z is at least 0.4. The polyamide-polyether block copolymers of the present invention can be used as gelling agents, also known as structuring agents, thickeners, rheology modifiers, or thixotropic agents. For example, in one aspect the polyamide-polyether copolymer is a gelling agent for liquid esters such as methyl soyate, glycol ethers such as glycol dipropylene monomethyl ether, substituted hydroxy esters such as ethyl lactate. In another aspect, the polyamide-polyether copolymer is a gelling agent for polyesters such as dibutyl adipate. The present invention also provides compositions that include a polyamide-polyether block copolymer as described herein and a compound or mixture of compounds, wherein the compound or mixture of compounds is a liquid at room temperature in clean form. Such a composition may be fluid at elevated temperatures and in the form of a gel at a lower temperature, for example, at room temperature. The compound (s) can (n) comprise a functional group, for example, an ester, alcohol, aromatic ring, ether, halogen, carbonate and / or sulfoxide. The gels and compositions of the present invention can be formulated into various articles of manufacture. Such articles of manufacture are described more fully below, but include personal care products, paint separators, air fresheners, medicament applicators, varnishes, and the like, which desirably is in a coarse state or gel. These and other aspects of this invention will be apparent with reference to the following detailed description.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to polyamide-polyether block copolymers. As used herein, the term "polyamide" denotes a macromolecule that contains a plurality of amide groups, ie, groups of the formula -NH-C (= 0) - and / or -C (= 0) -NH -, and the term "polyether" denotes a macromolecule containing a plurality of ether groups, ie, groups of the formula ROR where R represents an organic group (containing carbon). Polyamides are a class of polymer well known in the art, and are commonly prepared through a condensation polymerization process whereby the diamines are reacted with dicarboxylic acid (diacids). As discussed below, the copolymers of the present invention are likewise conveniently prepared by reacting diamines with diacids. Polyethers are a class of polymer that are also well known, wherein a type of polyether is commonly prepared by reaction of an alkylene oxide (eg, ethylene oxide) with an initial group (eg, methanol). At present, many polyethers are commercially available that have terminal groups selected from amine, hydroxyl and carboxylic acid. The use of polyethers having two amine end groups is used according to the present invention to introduce polyether blocks into a polyamide copolymer. This approach provides blocks of polyether groups within a polyamide copolymer. It has been found that copolymers having this structure are widely used in many compositions, particularly including compositions wherein the copolymer acts to thicken or gel a solvent. In polyether-polyamide block copolymers, the closest amide groups are separated by either alkylene or polyether groups (i.e., poly (alkyleneoxy) groups). As used herein, the term "alkylene" refers to a divalent hydrocarbon radical group (ie, hydrocarbyl diradical) exclusively containing single bonds CC and CH, while "hydrocarbon" refers to any molecular structural domain containing exclusively atoms of hydrogen and carbon. As used herein, the term "polyether" refers to a divalent radical that includes a plurality of, ie, at least two, ether groups, wherein one ether group has the formula ROR and R represents alkylene and O groups represents oxygen. Polyether groups also refer to poly (alkylene) oxide groups herein. The structure of polyether groups can also be represented as (0-R) n, where "n" represents a number of repeating O-R groups. The polyamide-polyether copolymers of the present invention contain at least one internal polyether group, that is, a polyether group flanked by two amide groups. The polyamide-polyether block copolymers of the present invention contain a polyether block, and more specifically, a polyether block flanked by two amide groups. In one aspect of the invention, two amide groups of the polyamide-polyether copolymer also flank a substituted 1,4-cyclohexyl diradical. It has surprisingly been found that copolymers containing this particular combination of groups, ie, cyclohexyl diradicals and polyether diradicals, each flanked by amide groups, provide an effective gelator for liquids, particularly polar liquids. However, for the copolymers to be effective gelators, it is necessary to be able to prepare a solution containing the copolymer and a solvent to be gelled, and this is done when the softening point of the copolymer is not excessively high. According to the present invention, the softening point of the inventive copolymer is between 60 ° C and 180 ° C. As discussed in further detail below, using the softening point is below about 60 ° C, the copolymer typically provides very little thickening or gelation function to a composition containing the copolymer and a solvent. When the softening point is above about 180 ° C, the copolymer is highly molten which is very difficult to prepare a solution of the copolymer and a solvent to be gelled. According to the above, the range of the softening point for the copolymer is 60-180 ° C. The 1,4-disubstituted cyclohexyl diradicals are conveniently introduced into the polyamide-polyether copolymer by the use of 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), while the polyether diradicals are conveniently introduced into the polyamide-polyether copolymer by the use of poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA). It has been found that the use of CHDA as the diacid component of a copolymer-forming mixture produces a polyamide-polyether with relatively higher softening point than virtually any other commercially available diacid. It has also been found that high levels of poly (alkylene oxide) portions (PAO portions) can be used in the polyamide-polyether reaction mixture while still maintaining a very high softening point for the copolymer. As a result, these copolymers are compatible with polar liquids, and can be used to form relatively hard gels of polar liquids, such gelation while still being maintained at high temperatures. A further surprising feature of the copolymers of this invention is that they do not require end groups, ie, the polymers do not need to be terminated by an ester group, tertiary amide group, or substituted amide with poly (alkyleneoxy). They may, therefore, be of high molecular weight, have residual acid groups as residual terms or amines groups as terms. In one aspect of the invention, the reaction mixture that is used to prepare the polyamide-polyether block copolymer does not include any monofunctional reagent that would react with either the amine or carboxylic acid groups. Accordingly, in one aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more compound (s) of diacid including 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), wherein the reaction mixture contains no monofunctional reagent, i.e., reagent which is a monofunctional and that would react with either carboxylic acid groups or amine groups. Although the copolymers of the present invention do not require any terminal reaction, ie reaction with monofunctional reagent, some amount of terminal reaction can be used to prepare these copolymers. Thus, in another aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compound (s) ( s) including 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), wherein the reaction mixture contains an amount, preferably a minor amount, of monofunctional reagent, that is, reactive that is monofunctional and that will react with either carboxylic acid groups and amine groups. These monofunctional reagents are described in detail below. Thus, in one aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compound (s) ( s) which include 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (CHDA), one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), and one or more multifunctional compound (s) that are reactive with carboxylic acid groups. In another aspect, the present invention provides a polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid (s) compound (s) including acid 1, 4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), one or more diamine compound (s) including poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), and one or more multifunctional compound (s) that are reactive with amine groups. As will be discussed in more detail below, in further aspects the present invention is directed to the use of the copolymers identified herein as organic liquid gelatins, and in further aspects the present invention is directed to compositions of the copolymers identified herein. mixing with an organic solvent, the composition preferably being a gelled composition wherein the copolymer has provided structure to the solvent. In various optional aspects of the invention, the monofunctional reagent is present in the reaction mixture in a "minor amount". The term "minor amount" refers to the situation wherein: a) the monofunctional reagent (s) present in the reaction mixture comprises either a single functional group that is reactive with a group acid of the diacid compound (a reactive group of acid) or a single functional group that is reactive with an amine group of the compound diamine (a reactive group of amine); b) the reaction mixture contains equivalents of acid groups contributed by the monoacid compounds (if present) and diacid (the acid groups), equivalents of amine groups contributed by the monoamine compounds (if present) and diamine ( the amine groups), and at least one of i) equivalents of the reactive group (s) to selected monoamine and monoalcohol acid, and ii) one equivalent of the reactive group (s) (s) to selected amine (s) of monoacid compounds; c) the reaction mixture is characterized by a first proportion and a second proportion, the first proportion being the equivalents of the acid-reactive groups to the equivalents of the acid groups, and the second proportion being the equivalents of the reactive groups to amine to the equivalents of the amine groups; and d) wherein a minor amount of monofunctional reagent is present in the reaction mixture when the sum of the first ratio and the second ratio is less than 0.09. The value of 0.09 is selected according to the present invention to provide a relatively small amount of termination, which is preferred for the copolymers to have good gelation properties. As stated above, this sum can be 0.0 when there is no termination. In several additional aspects of the invention, this sum is 0.08, 0.07, 0.06, 0.05, 0.04, 0.03, 0.02 and 0.02. In general, very little monofunctional reagent is required to prepare a copolymer useful as a gelling agent. In various aspects of the invention, the monofunctional reagent contributes less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%. %, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1%, or less than 0.5% of the total weight of the reactants that form copolymer. In one aspect, the polyamide-polyether block copolymer of the invention is formed of a reaction mixture containing no monofunctional compound reactive with either amine or carboxylic acid groups. For clarification, it is explained that this condition refers to the fact that non-pure, or almost pure, monofunctional compound reactive with either amine or carboxylic acid groups is added to the reaction mixture. The specification that the reaction mixture contains no functional compound reactive with either amine or carboxylic acid groups is not proposed to exclude the use of reagents containing a minor amount of monofunctional compound as an impurity. For example, the standard commercial grade of PAODA can be contaminated with a percent or two of PAOMA. However, the use of such impure PAODA is not considered to be the addition of monofunctional compound to the reaction mixture. Likewise, "polymerized fatty acid" is considered as referring to a difunctional acid material, even when the commercially polymerized fatty acid can be contaminated with small amount (s) of monomeric fatty acid and / or some trimer acid. Because "polymerized fatty acid" contains such a large amount of dimer acid, the polymerized fatty acid is frequently referred to commercially as "dimer acid", even though it is often not 100% pure dimer acid. In this manner, the terms "polymerized fatty acid" and "dimer acid" and "dimer" are often used synonymously in the art, and because the convention will be used herein. However, even the "dimer acid" or "polymerized fatty acid" (where these two terms refer to the same material) contains some monomeric fatty acid and / or trimer acid, for purposes of calculating equivalents and percentages by weight, the Polymerized fatty acid is considered to be completely composed of difunctional acid material, provided that the dysfunctional acid material constitutes at least 75% by weight of the total weight of the composition. The use of commercial grade dimer acid (polymerized fatty acid) as a component of a reaction mixture is not considered to add monomeric fatty acid to the reaction mixture, even though some small amount of monomeric fatty acid may be found in admixture with the Dimer acid. The specification sheets of the following "commercial dimers" establish the indicated levels of monomer and trimer present in mixture with the "dimer acid": Dimer PRI POL ™ 1017 (Unichema) has 1 -3% monomer, 75-80% dimer and 18-22% trimer; dimero PRIPOL ™ 1 012 (Unichema) has 0.1% monomer, 97% min. dimero and 18-22% trimer; Dimer PRIPOL ™ 1013 (Unichema) has 0.1% monomer, 93-98% dimer and 1% max. trimer, with 2% max of "other"; Dimer PRI POL ™ 1006 (Unichema) has 0.4% max monomer, 93-98% dimer and 2-4% max. trimer; Dimer EMPOL ™ 1008 (Cognis) has 2-6% monomer, 90-98% dimer and 1 -5% trimer; EMPOR ™ 1012 dimer (Cognis) has 1 -7% monomer, 88-95% dimer and 1 -5% trimer; EMPOR ™ 1016 dimer (Cognis) has 4% monomer, 80% dimer and 16% trimer. These values in percent are in terms of weight percent, based on the total weight of the commercial product. . According to the present invention, the use of reactive monofunctional reactive carboxylic acid or amine groups. Thus, for purposes of the present invention, all acid functionality provided by a commercial grade dimer is considered to be derived from difunctional material. To reiterate, the condition that the reaction mixture does not contain any monofunctional compound reactive with acid or amine groups is not meant to mean that each of the components of the reaction mixture must be 100% pure and can not contain the most light of monofunctional compound reactive with acid or amine groups. On the other hand, when it is proposed that the reaction mixture does not contain any terminal reagent, ie, when no monofunctional reagent that is reactive with acid or amine groups should be present in the reaction mixture, the reagents should be largely pure and free of impurities that are terminal reagents or also the copolymer will be inadvertently terminated by the impurities. Accordingly, polymerized fatty acid will be considered to contain only difunctional acid provided that the content of the polymerized fatty acid is at least 75% by weight of the total weight of the composition. Preferably, however, the dysfunctional acid content of the polymerized fatty acid is at least 80% by weight, or even more preferably at least 90% by weight of the total weight of the composition. In addition to having the dysfunctional acid content of the polymerized fatty acid is at least 75% by weight, the contamination of the monomeric fatty acid (i.e., fatty acid with 18 carbon atoms) is preferably less than about 7% by weight of the total weight of the polymerized fatty acid. Preferably, when no monofunctional reagent is present in the reaction mixture, and still polymerized fatty acid is added to the reaction mixture, the polymerized fatty acid contains less than 5% by weight of monomeric fatty acid, and more preferably contains less than or equal to equal to 3% by weight of monomeric fatty acid. Polymerized fatty acid having less than or equal to 3% by weight of monomeric fatty acid is a standard grade of "commercially available dimer acid". In the same way with each of the other dysfunctional reagents, they preferably contain less than 7% by weight of impurity which is monofunctional and reactive carboxylic acid or amine groups. When the dysfunctional reagent contains more than about 10% by weight reactive monofunctional material, then this monofunctional material begins to exert a noticeable effect on the properties of the product copolymer, and the terminal effect of this reactive monofunctional material must be considered to calculate the stoichiometry desired of the reagents. When polymerized fatty acid is a component of a reaction mixture, the content of trimer acid in combination with the dimer acid should be considered. Trimer acid, being a virifunctional material, tends to cause degradation to occur, and causes a faster increase in molecular weight of the copolymer than pure dimer acid. According to the above, the amount of acid trimer present in mixture with the dimer acid is preferably minimized. A dimer acid with a high content of trimer acid can be used in the present invention, however, some monofunctional reagent that is reactive with the trimer acid, for example, monoamine or monoalcohol, is preferably used as a co-reactant to minimize the formation of high molecular weight copolymer. A polymerized fatty acid having 2-6% monomer acid, 90-98% dimer acid and 1-5% trimer acid is a preferred "dimer" of the present invention. In one aspect of the invention, monoamine is present between the reactants. In several aspects when the monoamine is present among the reactants, the monoamine amine equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less of 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the total amine equivalents (i.e., amine equivalents contribute by monoamine, diamine, and any other component containing amine) present in the reaction mixture. In various other aspects when the monoamine is present among the reactants, the monoamine amine equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the amine equivalents-reactive groups present in the reaction mixture, wherein carboxylic acid is a group amine reactive which will necessarily be present in the reaction mixture. In one aspect of the invention, monoalcohol is present among the reactants. In various other aspects when the monoalcohol is present among the reactants, the hydroxyl equivalents of monoalcohol contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the total alcohol and amine equivalents (i.e., amine equivalents contributed by monoamine, diamine, and any other compound containing amine, plus hydroxyl equivalents contributed by alcohols) present in the reaction mixture. In various other aspects when the monoalcohol is present among the reactants, the hydroxyl equivalents of monoalcohol contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the total equivalents of hydroxyl-reactive groups present in the reaction mixture, wherein carboxylic acid is a hydroxyl reactive group that will necessarily be present in the reaction mixture. In one aspect, monoacid is present among the reactants. In several aspects when the monoacid is present among the reactants, the monoacid acid equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less of 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the total acid equivalents (i.e., acid equivalents contributed by monoacid, diacid, and any other compound containing acid) present in the reaction mixture. In several other aspects when monoacid is present among the reactants, the monoacid acid equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less of 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the acid equivalents-reactive groups present in the reaction mixture, wherein amine is both a reactive group acid that will necessarily be present in the reaction mixture. It is possible to include more than one type of monofunctional reagent in the reaction mixture. For example, monoamine and monoacid, or monoamine and monoalcohol, or monoacid and monoalcohol, or monoacid and monoamine and monoalcohol. When the monofunctional reagent mixtures are used in the reaction mixture, then in several aspects of the invention, the monofunctional reagents, in total, contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the reactive equivalents present in the reaction mixture (ie, reactive equivalents from any source, including, for example, diacid, diamine, monoacid, monoamine, monoalcohol). For example, in one aspect of the invention the reaction mixture includes both monoamine and monoalcohol. In this case, then in various aspects of the invention the total of the monoalcohol hydroxyl equivalents and monoamine amine equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less than 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the sum of the amine equivalents (i.e., amine equivalents) contributed by monoamine, diamine, and any other compound containing amine) and the total hydroxyl equivalents (ie, hydroxyl equivalents contributed by alcohols) present in the reaction mixture. In various other aspects when both monoamine and monoalcohol are present between the reactants, the total of monoalcohol hydroxyl equivalents and monoamine amine equivalents contribute less than 10%, or less than 9%, or less than 8%, or less of 7%, or less than 6%, or less than 5%, or less than 4%, or less than 3%, or less than 2%, or less than 1% of the total equivalents of amine-reactive groups and groups alcohol reagents present in the reaction mixture, wherein carboxylic acid is both an amine-reactive group and a hydroxyl-reactive group that will necessarily be present in the reaction mixture. Specific monofunctional reagents, for example, monoamines, monoalcohols and monoacid carboxylic acids, are described in detail below. Typically, the polymers are prepared from a reaction mixture, wherein the reaction mixture contains the chemicals that react together to form the polymer. As used herein, the term "reaction mixture" refers to all chemicals, and all amounts of those chemicals, that are used to form the polymer. For example, a polymer can be prepared by reacting chemicals "a" and "b", and then adding the chemical "c" to the product (s) of reacting chemicals "a" and "b" (the reaction products they can be abbreviated as "ab" for convenience). The reaction mixture, since that term is used herein, refers to a hypothetical mixture of chemicals "a", "b" and "c" even though, in fact, each of those chemicals may not be present in any time because the chemicals "a" and "b" are reacted to form a product ("ab") and therefore are not present when the chemical "c" is added to the reaction flask. Solvents may be present during the formation of the copolymer, however, because the solvents are not incorporated into the copolymer structure, the solvents are not included within the term "reaction mixture". In one embodiment of the present invention, a polyamide-polyether copolymer is formed from a reaction mixture that includes 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and a poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine. As used herein, the terms 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine refer to both chemicals per se as well as reactive equivalents thereof. For example, the reactive equivalents of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid include the corresponding salt forms, acid halides and short chain esters. Reactive equivalents of poly (alkylene oxide) diamine include the corresponding salt forms, acid halides and short chain esters. Any of the chemicals per se, or their reactive equivalents, can be used to prepare the polyamide-polyether copolymers of the present invention. The components of the reaction mixture should be selected, in terms of structure and amount, to provide a copolymer having a softening point between about 60 ° C and about 180 ° C. As mentioned previously, when the softening point of the polyamide-polyether copolymer is too low, the gel formed of polyamide and solvent is often undesirably soft, that is, the gelled composition does not demonstrate adequate gelled properties unless they are cooled well below typical ambient temperatures. For most purposes, a softening point of at least 60 ° C is typically necessary for the copolymer to impart significant gelled properties to a copolymer / solvent composition. When the softening point becomes very high, it is very difficult to dissolve the copolymer in a solvent, where this dissolution process is preferably carried out by melting the copolymer in the presence of the solvent. According to the above, a softening point within the range of about 60 ° C and about 1 80 ° C is preferred. In various aspects of the invention, the softening point of the copolymer is at least 65 ° C, or at least 70 ° C, or at least 75 ° C, or at least 80 ° C, or at least 85 ° C, or at minus 90 ° C, or at least 95 ° C, or at least 1 00 ° C, or at least 1 05 ° C, or at least 1 1 0 ° C, or at least 1 15 ° C, or at least 120 ° C C. In several other aspects, the softening point of the copolymer is not more than 170 ° C, or not more than 160 ° C, or not more than 150 ° C, or not more than 140 ° C, or not more than 130 ° C . Thus, for example, the present invention provides polyamide-polyether copolymers having softening points between 60-80 ° C, wherein the lower limit of this range can be replaced with any of the values of and between 65-120. ° C as stated above, and independently, the upper limit of this range can be replaced with any of the values of 1 30-170 ° C as also stated above. In a preferred aspect of the invention, the copolymer has a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C.

Softening point, which can also be referred to as melting point, can be measured by the so-called "ring and ball" method, which is the subject of ASTM E28 (www.astm.org, West Conshohocken, PA, USA). Alternatively, a value of the softening point can be obtained by using a Mettier FP80 Central Processor and a Mettier FP83 HT Drop Point Cell using a softening point ring. This apparatus is available from Mettier Laboratories (Hightstown, NJ, USA). The values of the melting point described and reported herein are obtained using either a Mettier FP83HT apparatus or a ring and ball apparatus. In general, the softening point of the polyamide-polyether copolymer can be adjusted as described herein, for example, by varying the amount of chain termination, where shorter chains tend to have a lower softening point, as the the amount of CHDA used in the reaction mixture, where the increase in the amount of CHDA tends to increase the softening point of polyamide, and by varying the amount of polyether, where the increase in the amount of polyether tends to reduce the softening point of the copolymer, and when varying the type of polyether, wherein increasing the (ethyloxy) content tends to reduce the softening point relative to the (propyloxy) content. As the softening point of the copolymer increases, it becomes more difficult to dissolve the polyamide in the solvent that is gelling. However, an increase in the softening point of the polyamide tends to provide a gelled solvent / copolymer composition that is increasingly stable at high temperatures, i.e., a higher softening point polyamide provides a gelled composition that maintains its gelled state at higher temperature. Generally, although not always, it is desirable that the gelled composition have improved high temperature stability. The polyamide-polyether copolymer containing cyclohexyl / polyether is thermoplastic and has both a suitably low softening point of about 60-180 ° C and compatibility with an organic liquid so that, in the mixing of the organic liquid and the copolymer in the In the presence of adequate cutting and heating, a homogeneous mixture is created, which, in the cooling, is in the form of a gel. Many polyamides of the prior art, designed to be heat-resistant molding compounds, are not suitable as gelation agents either because they have very high melting points, typically above 200 ° C which means that they can not be mixed with Typical organic liquids that need to be gelled, or are completely incompatible with these liquids. Both cyclohexane dicarboxylic acids and polyether diamines are standard commercial chemicals that are well known to one skilled in the art. These are various isomers of cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid. For example, the two carboxylic acid groups may be ordered in a ratio of 1, 2 (ortho), 1, 3 (meta) or 1, 4 (para) around the cyclohexyl ring. In addition, the two acid groups can be placed on the same side of the cyclohexyl ring (c / 's) or on opposite sides. { trans). In a preferred embodiment, CHDA is acid, 4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic as obtained from, for example, Eastman Chemical Company (Kingsport, TN, USA) or Aldrich Chemical (Milwaukee, WI, USA). Examples of poly (alkylenoxide) diamines (PAODAs) include, but are not limited to, those having the structural formula: H2N-CH (R3) CH2- (0-CH (R3) -CH (R3)) aN H2 (1 ) wherein: R3 in each occurrence is a monovalent radical independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and aliphatic hydrocarbons Ci to C, and 'a' is up to about 1 00, preferably about 2 to about 75, more preferably about 8 to about 50. The molecular weight of PAODA can vary over a wide rangehowever, when the molecular weight becomes too low then the high-melting salts are formed between PAODA and CH DA, where these high-melt salts are difficult to work in a manufacturing environment. According to the foregoing, the molecular weight of PAODA is preferably at least 400 g / mol. In several aspects, PAODA has a molecular weight of at least 600 g / mol, or 800 g / mol, or 1, 000 g / mol, or 1, 200 g / mol, or 1, 500 g / mol, or 2, 000 g / mol.

Techniques for preparing PAODAs are well known in the art, and include reacting an initiator containing two hydroxyl groups with ethylene oxide and / or monosubstituted ethylene oxide followed by conversion of the resulting terminal hydroxyl groups to amines. Illustrative of the PAODA reagents employed herein are the JEFFAMINE ™ brand of poly (alkyleneoxy) amines available from Huntsman Performance Chemicals (Houston, TX, USA). These PAODAs are prepared from bifunctional initiator reactions with ethylene oxide and propylene oxide followed by the conversion of terminal hydroxyl groups to amines. Exemplary PAODAs are JEFFAMINE ™ D-series poly (alkylenoxy) diamines from Huntsman Chemicals (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) having a number average molecular weight between 150 and 4,000. As mentioned above, preferred PAODAs are those having an approximate molecular weight of at least about 400 g / mol, which are exemplified by PAODAs JEFFAMINE ™ D-400 and JEFFAMINE ™ D-2000. As mentioned above, when the molecular weight of PAODA is less than about 400 g / mol, the melting point of the corresponding polyamide becomes undesirably high for the polyamide to function as a gelation agent, and / or the mixture of reactants it melts too high to easily form a molten mixture which can be reacted together to form a polyamide. The relative amounts of CHDA and PAODA are important for preparing a polyamide-polyether copolymer having good gelation behavior and other properties. The reaction mixture that is prepared to form a polyamide polyether of the present invention will have both diamine and diacid, and may have other reagents optionally present. The diamine may be a mixture of diamines, and independently, the diacid may be a mixture of diacids. In those cases, wherein the diamine and / or the diacid is a mixture, the relative amounts of diamine in the diamine mixture, and the relative amounts of diacid in the diacid mixture, can be characterized in terms of equivalent (s) and or equivalent percent, or can be characterized in terms of percent by weight. As used herein, the terms "equivalent (s)" and "equivalent percent" are proposed to have their standard meanings as used in the art. However, for further clarity, it is noted that the equivalents refer to the number of reactive groups present in a molar amount of a molecule, such that one mole of a dicarboxylic acid (e.g., CHDA) has two equivalents of carboxylic acid, one mole of poly (alkylene) diamine has two equivalents of amine, and one mole of monoamine has one equivalent of amine. For example, the diamine component in the reaction mixture may be a mixture of poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine and one or more co-diamines. In such a case, in various aspects of the invention, the poly (alkylenoxy) component of the diamine mixture contributes at least 5 percent, or at least 10 percent, or at least 15 percent, or at least 20 percent , or at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 35%, or at least 40%, or at least 45%, or at least 50%, or at least 55%, or at least 60%, or at least 65%, or at least 70%, or at least 75%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or at least 90%, or at least 95% of the diamine amine equivalents present in the reaction mixture, with the remainder being co-diamine. Alternatively, the reaction mixture can be described in terms of percent by weight for each diamine component of a mixture of diamines! for example, a mixture of poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine and one or more co-diamines. In this case, in various aspects of the invention, the poly (alkylenoxy) diamine component of the diamine mixture contributes at least 5%, or at least 10%, or at least 15%, or at least 20%, or at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 35%, or at least 40%, or at least 45%, or at least 50%, of the total weight of all the reactive components present in the reaction mixture. In addition, or alternatively, the diacid component in the reaction mixture may be a mixture of CHDA or one or more co-diacids. In such a case, in various aspects of the invention, the CHDA component of the diacid mixture contributes at least 5 percent, or at least 10 percent, or at least 15 percent, or at least 20 percent, or at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 35%, or at least 40%, or at least 45%, or at least 50%, or at least 55%, or at least 60%, or at least 65% , or at least 70%, or at least 75%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or at least 90%, or at least 95% of the diacid acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture, with the rest being co-diacid. Alternatively, the reaction mixture can be described in terms of the weight percent contributed by each diacid component of a mixture of diacids, for example, a mixture of CHDA and one or more co-diacids. In this case, in various aspects of the invention, the CHDA component of the diacid mixture contributes at least 5%, or at least 10%, or at least 15%, or at least 20%, or at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 35%, or at least 40%, or at least 45%, or at least 50%, of the total weight of all the reactive components charged to the reaction mixture. In the case where the polyamide-polyether copolymer of the invention is prepared, at least in part, from a named diacid, for example, CHDA or dimer acid, the reaction mixture used to prepare the copolymer can optionally contain co-diacid, that is, diacid different from the named diacid. Among the possible reasons for the addition of co-diacid to the copolymer-forming reaction mixture are (a) to reduce the cost of copolymer preparation, in the case where the co-diacid is added to replace an equivalent amount of CHDA more expensive or acid dimer, (b) to modify the softening point of the copolymer, and (c) to modify the compatibility of the copolymer with a solvent. As used herein, a co-diacid is a compound of the formula HOOC-R7-COOH wherein R7 has a structure that does not provide the named diacid, for example, it does not provide CHDA or dimer acid when any is the named diacid . In one aspect, the polyamides of the present invention include R7 groups having 2-32 carbons, which are referred to herein as R7 co-diacid groups. Suitable co-diacids have a linear C4-12 hydrocarbon group between the two carboxylic acid groups, and more preferably have a linear C6-8 hydrocarbon group. Linear diacids suitable for the present invention include 1,6-hexanedioic acid (adipic acid), 1,7-heptanedioic acid (pimelic acid), 1,8-octanedioic acid (suberic acid), 1,9-nonanedioic acid (acid) azelaic), 1,1-decanedioic acid (sebacic acid), 1,1-undecanedioic acid, 1,1-dodecanedioic acid (1,1-decanedicarboxylic acid), 1,3-tridecanodioic acid (brazilic acid) and acid 1 , 14-tetradecanedioic acid (1,2-dodecanedicarboxylic acid). Another exemplary co-diacid to be used in the present invention is the reaction product of acrylic or methacrylic acid (or the ester thereof, with a subsequent hydrolysis step to form an acid) and an unsaturated fatty acid. For example, a C2i diacid of this type can be formed by reacting acrylic acid with a C- | 8 unsaturated fatty acid (e.g., oleic acid), wherein one reacts or occurs presumably between the reactants. An exemplary C2i diacid is commercially available from Westvaco Corporation, Chemical Division, Charleston Heights, South Carolina, as its 1550 product.

The aromatic diacids can be used as the co-diacid. An "aromatic diacid" as used herein refers to a molecule having two carboxylic acid groups (-COOH) or reactive equivalents thereof (eg, acid chloride (-COCI) or ester (-COOR)) and at least one aromatic ring ("Ar"). The eftalic acids, for example, isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid, are exemplary aromatic co-diacids. The aromatic co-diacid may contain aliphatic carbons attached to the aromatic ring (s), as in HOOC-CH2-Ar-CH2-COOH and the like. The aromatic co-diacid may contain two aromatic rings, which may be joined together through one or more carbon bonds, (for example, biphenyl with carboxylic acid substitution) or which may be fused (for example, naphthalene with carboxylic acid substitution). ). In various aspects of the invention, the reaction mixture used to prepare the copolymer contains 0% co-diacid, or the co-diacid, when present, constitutes up to about 5%, or up to about 10%, or up to about 15% , or up to about 20%, or up to about 25%, or up to about 30%, or up to about 35%, or up to about 40%, or up to about 45%, or up to about 50%, or up to about 55%, or up to about 60%, or up to about 65%, or up to about 70% of the total weight of the reagents used to form the copolymer.

In one aspect of the invention, the co-diacid in combination with CHDA can be polymerized fatty acid, also referred to as a dimer acid. The polymerized fatty acid is typically a mixture of structures, where the individual dimer acids can be saturated, unsaturated, cyclic, acyclic, etc. In this way, a detailed characterization of the dimer acid structure is not readily available. However, good discussions of fatty acid polymerization can be found in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,681 and Naval Stores-Production, Chemistry and Utilization, D. Zinkel and J. Russell (eds.), Pulp. Chem. Assoc. Inc., 1989, Chapter 23. Typical unsaturated fatty acids used to form polymerized fatty acid include oleic acid, linoleic acid, linolenic acid, etc. Tall oil fatty acid, which is a mixture containing long chain unsaturated fatty acids obtained as a byproduct of the wood pulp process, is an exemplary source of polymerized fatty acid useful in the invention, alternatively, the polymerized fatty acid it can be prepared by polymerization of unsaturated fatty acids from other sources, for example, soybeans or canola. In this manner, the polymerized fatty acid typically contains 30-42 carbon atoms, and can be described as having the trimer or dimer acid structure. The dimer acid is commercially available as, for example, UNIDY E ™ and SYLVADYME ™ dimer acids from Arizona Chemical (Jacksonville, FL), EMPOL ™ dimer acid from Cognis (Ambler, PA); and PRIPOL ™ acid from Unichema North America (Chicago, IL). Typically, in the polymerization of the fatty acid, both the dimer acid and the dimer acid are produced. This polymerization product can be subjected to distillation to remove all or most of the monomeric fatty acid species, and to fractionate the trimer and dimmer acids. However, it is difficult and expensive to fractionate the polymerized fatty acids to such an extent that they do not contain trimer acid and / or residual monomeric fatty acid. Accordingly, "dimer acid" as commercially available frequently contains some trimer acid and / or monomeric acid, and the specification sheet for the dimer acid will typically list a trimer acid and / or monomeric acid content. In this manner, the "dimer acid" that can be used to prepare copolymers of the present invention may contain some trimer acid and / or monomeric acid. Preferably, the dimer acid contains less than about 25% by weight of trimer acid, and in various aspects of the invention the dimer acid contains less than 20% by weight, or less than 15% by weight, or less than 10% by weight, or less than 5% by weight of trimer acid. Also preferably, the dimer acid contains less than about 25% residual weight of monomeric acid, and in various aspects of the invention, the dimer acid contains less than 20% by weight, or less than 15% by weight, or less than 1% by weight. 0% by weight, or less than 5% by weight monomeric fatty acid. The proportion of monomeric fatty acid, dimer acid and trimer acid present in a polymerized fatty acid distillate can be determined by gas chromatography, according to methods well known in the art. Preferably, the amount of the dimer acid present in the reaction mixture used to prepare the copolymer of the present invention is such that less than about 10% of the total acid equivalents in this mixture, or less than about 25% of the total weight of the This mixture comes from acid dimer. In one aspect of the invention, the copolymer formed of a reaction mixture comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine is characterized in terms of the amine equivalents of diamine present in the mixture. In one embodiment, the poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA) provides at least 20 percent of the amine equivalents of the diamine. In other modalities, PAODA provides at least 25 percent, or at least 30 percent, or at least 35 percent, or at least 40 percent, or at least 45 percent, or at least 50 percent, or at least 55 percent, or at least 60 percent, or at least 65 percent, or at least 70 percent, or at least 75 percent, or at least 80 percent, or at least 85 percent, or at least 90 percent percent, or at least 95 percent, or 100 percent of the amine equivalents of diamine present in the reaction mixture. In another aspect of the invention, the copolymer formed from a reaction mixture comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine is characterized in terms of the diamine diamine equivalents that are present in the mixture and they are contributed by short-chain aliphatic diamine having 2-6 carbons. As the term is used herein, a short chain diamine refers to an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, or aromatic moiety containing no more than 6 carbon atoms; "aliphatic" refers to a molecular portion having a structure devoid of aromatic ring systems; "cycloaliphatic" refers to an aliphatic molecular moiety having a ring structure; and "aromatic" refers to a molecular portion containing an aromatic ring structure such as, without limitation, phenyl or naphthyl. Exemplary short chain diamines include ethylene diamine, 1,3-diaminopropane, 1,4-diaminobutane, 1,6-hexamethylene diamine, piperazine, 1,2-cyclohexane diamine, isophorone diamine, and m-xylene diamine. In one aspect, the short chain diamine used to prepare a polyamide of the present invention is diamine of soforone or m-xylene diamine. As discussed below, the dimer diamine is not considered to be a short chain diamine. It has been found that inclusion of even smaller amounts of CHDA in a polyamide-forming reaction mixture limits the formulation to include only a few short-chain selected diamines because most aliphatic diamines (eg, ethylene diamine, hexamethylene diamine, piperazine) of intractable salts with CHDA in the mixture. Although small amounts of diamines such as isophorone diamine or m-xylene diamine can be added to the reaction mixture without the formation of intractable salts, they can also greatly increase the softening point of the copolymer. Therefore, the short chain diamine is preferably up to about 10 percent amine equivalent, more preferably up to about 5 percent amine equivalent, and even more preferably up to about 2 percent amine equivalent, of the mixture of the copolymer reaction. In one embodiment, such short chain diamines provide less than 10 percent of the diamine equivalents, while in another embodiment these short chain diamines provide less than 5 percent of the diamine amine equivalents, while in another embodiment these diamines of short chain do not provide any of diamine amine equivalents. In another aspect of the invention, the copolymer formed from a reaction mixture comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine is characterized in terms of the diacid acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture. In one embodiment, CHDA provides at least 20 percent of the acid equivalents of the diacid. In related modalities, CHDA provides at least 25%, or at least 30%, or at least 35%, or at least 40%, or at least 45%, or at least 50%, or at least 55%, or at less 60%, or at least 65%, or at least 70%, or at least 75%, or at least 80%, or at least 85%, or at least 90%, or at least 95%, or 100% the acid equivalents of diacid. When present, the rest of the acid equivalents would be provided by co-diacid as described above. In one embodiment, the reaction mixture used to form a copolymer of the present invention is characterized by acid equivalents of diacid, and polymerized fatty acid provides less than 10 percent of the acid equivalents of the diacid. In related embodiments, the polymerized fatty acid provides less than 5 percent, or none of the diacid acid equivalents. In one aspect, the reaction mixture forming the copolymer is about 1-50% 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (ie, CHDA) by weight; more preferably the reaction mixture is about 2-35% 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid by weight; and preferably the reaction mixture is about 5-25% 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid by weight. In one aspect, the polyamide of the invention is provided by reacting a major portion (> 50% of an equivalent base) of CHDA, an optional co-diacid such as sebacic acid, one or more poly (alkylenoxy) diamines, a diamine polymerized grease, or mixture of these diamines, a minor amount if any of an optional co-diamine, such as isophorone diamine, and an optional monoacid, optional monoacid, monoalcohol, or monoamine to control molecular weight. In one aspect of the invention, a polyamide-polyether block copolymer is provided, which is prepared from a reaction mixture that includes CHDA, PAODA and dimer diamine. The dimer diamine is derived from dimer acid as described herein, wherein the terminal -COOH groups of dimer acid are replaced with -NH2 groups. It is, therefore, a non-short chain diamine, containing approximately 36 carbon atoms, and does not form intractable salts in combination with CHDA. Also, therefore, a component of the copolymers of the invention contributes amorphous and fatty (ie, non-polar) to the copolymer. Dimeric diamine can be prepared from dimer acid using synthesis schemes known to those skilled in the art (see, for example, March's Advanced Organic Chemistry: Reactions, Mechanisms, and Structure, 5th edition, MB Smit and J. March, Wiley Interscience , New York, 2001). Dimer diamines are commercially available as, for example, products sold under the trademark VERSAMINE® by Cognis Corporation (Cincinnati, OH). When the dimer diamine is a component together with CHDA in a polyamide-forming reaction mixture, then in various aspects of the invention the dimer diamine is present up to about 5%, or up to about 10%, or up to about 15%, or up to about 20%, or up to about 25%, or up to about 30%, or up to about 35%, or up to about 40%, or up to about 45%, or up to about 50%, or up to about 55%, or until about 60% of the total weight of the total weight of the reagents used to form the copolymer. The following are the preferred embodiments of the present invention: 1) The copolymer has a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C. Copolymers having softening points within this range provide a good balance of good gelation properties and easy dissolution with most desirably gelling solvents. 2) CHDA is the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixture. A formulation A of this type will tend to provide relatively higher casting copolymer. 3) CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s). When the formulation contains less than this amount of CHDA, the copolymer has a lower softening point that is desired in most applications. 4) The diacid compound (s) comprises (s) dimer acid. The dimer acid is desirably included in the reaction mixture because it typically decreases the cost of the formulation, decreases the softening point and provides the copolymer with good compatibility with fewer polar solvents. 5) Dimer acid provides less than 25% of the equivalents of the acid groups attributed to the diacid compound (s). When the dimer acid provides more than about 25% of the equivalents of the acid groups attributed to the diacid compound (s), then the composition necessarily contains relatively less CHDA. Reducing the amount of CHDA decreases the softening point below what is typically desirable to gel most solvents. 6) The reaction mixture contains no monofunctional reagent. Since there is no terminal group using in this reaction mixture, the acid equivalents of the diacid should be approximately equal (i.e., found within about 10% of) diamine amine equivalents. The molecular weight of the polymer can, in this case, be adjusted by using an excess of one reactive group (acid or amine) on the other. 7) The reaction mixture contains a monocarboxylic acid compound. The monocarboxylic acid will function as a terminal group. Because mono carboxylic acid is used in a smaller amount, the molecular weight of the monocarboxylic acid does not greatly impact the properties of the copolymer. However, for convenience, it is preferred that the monocarboxylic acid has a molecular weight of about 60-1,000 g / mol. 8) The reaction mixture contains a mono-amine compound. The monoamine will function as a terminal group. Because the monoamine is used in a smaller amount, the molecular weight of the monoamine does not greatly impact the properties of the copolymer. However, for convenience, it is preferred that the monoamine has a molecular weight of about 70-2,100 g / mol. Poly (alkyleneoxy) monoamine (PAOMA) is a suitable mono-amine compound. However, when PAOMA is present in the mixture, the softening point of the copolymer tends to decrease. To raise the softening point of copolymer made from PAOMA, some PAODA can be replaced with co-diamine. Exemplary monoamines include poly (alkyleneoxy) monoamines (i.e., PAOMAs), having the structure R5-OCH2CH20- (CH2CHRO) m-CH2CH (R ") NH2 (2) wherein R5 is preferably an alkyl group; R 'is preferably H, CH3, or C2H5; and R "is preferably H or CH3. Commercially available PAOMAs are typically prepared from ethylene oxide and / or propylene oxide and are available in varying proportions of propylene oxide to ethylene oxide-based residues. example, Huntsman Chemicals (Houston, TX, USA), sold under the XTJ and JEFFAMINE ™ M series brands (for example, M-2070) 9) The reaction mixture contains a monohydric compound The monohydric compound will work as a terminal group, because the monohydric compound is used in a smaller amount, the molecular weight of the monohydric compound does not greatly impact the properties of the copolymer, however, for convenience, it is preferred that the monohydric compound have a molecular weight of about 70-1,000 g / mol.The mono-hydric compound of poly (alkylenoxy) is a suitable monohydric compound.However, when the mono-hydric compound of poly (alkenenoxy) is When present in the mixture, the softening point of the copolymer tends to decrease. To raise the softening point of the copolymer made of poly (alkenenoxy) monohydric compound, some of the PAODA can be replaced with co-diamine. 1 0) The copolymer of claim 1 wherein the reaction mixture further comprises a dihydric compound. The dihydric compound can be used in place of an equal amount of diamine compound, or an equivalent base. The dihydric compound, which may also be referred to as a diol, may be a short-chain diol, for example, a compound of the formula HO-R-OH wherein R is a cycloalkylene group or C2-C8 alkylene (eg, glycol) of ethylene, butylene glycol, cyclohexanedimethanol), or it can be a polyether diol, ie, a compound of the formula HO-R-OH wherein R is (CH2CH20) nCH2CH2- (n is 1 to about 500) and a ethylene group (i.e., CH2CH2) can be replaced in one or more occurrences with a propylene group (i.e., CH2CH (CH3)). Polyether diols are commercially available from many sources. A readily available polyether diol is known as PEG, ie, polyethylene glycol, and is sold by Aldrich. When the polyether diol is present in the reaction mixture, the polyether diol preferably contributes to no more than 40 percent equivalent of the total diamine and diol reagents. 1 1) The reaction mixture further comprises a co-diacid. The diacid typically serves to decrease the cost of the formulation and reduce the softening point of the copolymer. Exemplary co-diacids include adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, dodecanedioic acid, and 1,3-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid. 12) PAODA is the only diamine compound present in the reaction mixture. 13) PAODA provides at least 20% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s) in the reaction mixture. 14) PAODA includes compounds of PAODA having molecular weights between 400 and 5,000. PAODA compounds having molecular weight below about 400 tend to form intractable salts with CHDA, and according to the above either they are omitted from the reaction mixture, or they are used in very small amounts. However, JEFFAMINE D-400, has a molecular weight of about 440, does not cause an intractable salt formation problem. 15) The diamine compound (s) present in the reaction mixture exclude diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl. Again, these very short chain diamines tend to form intractable salts with CHDA, and according to the above are preferably omitted from the reaction mixture.

If they are present, they are preferably used in small amounts, so that they provide less than 10% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s). 16) The copolymer has a weight average molecular weight of between 10,000 and 40,000, as measured using a permeation chromatography. gel with polystyrene as reference standards. 17) The copolymer has a weight average molecular weight in excess of 30,000, as measured using gel permeation chromatography with polystyrene as reference standards. 1 8) The diamine compound (s) comprises (n) dimer diamine. The dimer diamine is a good addition to the reaction mixture to allow the mixture to have acid-rich equivalents contributed to CHDA, but some acidic character to increase the gelation properties for fewer polar solvents. 19) The copolymer has low numbers of amine and acid, where a low number of amine or acid is less than 20, or less than 18, or less than 16, or less than 14, or less than 12, or less than 10 , or less than 8, or less than 6, or less than 5, or less than 4, or less than 3, or less than 2. In exemplary embodiments, at least one of the acid or amine number of the copolymer is less than 20, or less than 18, or less than 16, or less than 14, or less than 12, or less than 10, or less than 8, or less than 6, or less than 5, or less than 4, or less than 3, or less than 2. In other exemplary embodiments, both of the acid and amine numbers of the copolymer are less than 20, or less than 18, or less than 16, or less than 14, or less than 12, or less than 10, or less than 8, or less than 6, or less than 5, or less than 4, or less than 3, or less than 2. For example, the present invention provides copolymers having an amine number of less than 10 and an acid number less than 15. E In various aspects of the invention, any of two or more preferred features 1) to 19) may be combined to describe a copolymer of the invention. For example, and for illustrative purposes only, it can be mentioned that characteristic 3) can be combined with characteristic 1), or characteristic 2), or characteristic 4), or characteristic 5), or characteristic 6), or characteristic 7), or characteristic 8), or characteristic 9), or characteristic 1 0), or characteristic 1 1), or characteristic 12), or characteristic 13), or characteristic 14), or characteristic 15), or characteristic 16), or characteristic 17), or characteristic 18), or characteristic 1 9). Similarly, characteristic 5) can be combined with characteristic 1), or characteristic 2), or characteristic 3), or characteristic 4), or characteristic 6), or characteristic 7), or characteristic 8 ), or characteristic 9), or characteristic 1 0), or characteristic 1 1), or characteristic 12), or characteristic 13), or characteristic 14), or characteristic 15), or characteristic 16 ), or feature 17), or feature 18), or feature 19). Similarly, characteristic 13) can be combined with characteristic 1), or characteristic 2), or characteristic 3), or characteristic 4), or characteristic 5), or characteristic 6), or characteristic 7 ), or characteristic 8), or characteristic 9), or characteristic 10), or characteristic 1 1), or characteristic 12), or characteristic 14), or characteristic 15), or characteristic 16) , or feature 17), or feature 18), or feature 19). Similarly, characteristic 18) can be combined with characteristic 1), or characteristic 2), or characteristic 3), or characteristic 4), or characteristic 5), or characteristic 6), or characteristic 7 ), or characteristic 8), or characteristic 9), or characteristic 10), or characteristic 1 1), or characteristic 12), or characteristic 13), or characteristic 14), or characteristic 15) , or feature 16), or feature 17), or feature 19). More than two features as identified herein may be combined to characterize a copolymer of the present invention. For example, in one aspect, the invention provides a copolymer having a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C.; wherein CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s); the dimer acid is present in the reaction mixture, however the dimer acid provides less than 25% of the equivalents of the pacified groups attributed to the diacid compound (s); and PAODA provides at least 20% of the amine equivalents attributed to the compound (s) diamine. The copolymers of the present invention contain at least one polyether block (ie, polyalkyleneoxy), and at least one polyamide block (wherein the polyamide block can, but need not, include polyether groups). The polyether block is preferably introduced into the copolymer in the form of a reactive polyether, i.e. , a polyether having one or two reactive end groups such as an amine, an acid or an alcohol. The presence of both blocks, polyether and polyamide, has been found to be an extremely effective combination for the copolymer to function as a gellant. In general, in one aspect of the invention, it is preferred that polyether groups (also referred to as polyalkyleneoxy groups (PAO) constitute about 30-60% by weight of the weight of the copolymer, in other words, reagents that introduce polyether groups in the In one aspect, the reagents that are used to introduce polyether groups into the copolymer are selected from PAO-MA (polyether terminated in monoamine), PAO-DA (polyether terminated in diamine, ie, each of the two terms of PAO is an amine group), PAO-COOH (polyether terminated carboxylic acid), PAO-OH (polyether terminated in hydroxyl), HO-PAO -OH (dihydroxy terminated polyether, ie, each of the two PAO terms is a hydroxyl group.) In a related aspect, the polyether groups constitute approximately 40-50% by weight of the total weight of the reagents used to form and The copolymer In a preferred embodiment, the PAO groups are introduced into the copolymer through polyalkyleneoxy groups terminated in diamine and monoamine. In another preferred embodiment, at least some PAO-DA is used to produce polyether groups in the copolymer. In another preferred embodiment, PAO-DA has a molecular weight of 1, 000-3,000, more preferably 1, 500 to 2,500. As mentioned above, mono-carboxylic acid can be present as one of the components of the reaction mixture. In such a case, the copolymer of the invention can be described as including a macromolecule of the formula (3): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R is a C6 carbocyclic group derived from CHDA; R2 is a polyalkylene oxide portion derived from PAODA; R3 is a hydrocarbon group having at least 2 carbons; and n is an integer of at least 1. By specifying that n is an integer of at least 11, the present invention is directed to copolymers of relatively high molecular weight, for example, copolymers having a macromolecule of formula (1) with a molecular weight greater than 30,000. As mentioned above, the monoamine may be present as one of the components of the reaction mixture. In such a case, the copolymer of the invention can be described as including a macromolecule of the formula (4): R * NH- - C R 1 - C NH R 2 - NH-J-C R 1 C NH R 4 (4)? wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group derived from CHDA; R2 is a polyalkylenoxide moiety derived from PAODA; R 4 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyakyleneoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 100; and n is an integer of at least 1 1. By specifying that n is an integer of at least 11, the present invention is directed to relatively high molecular weight copolymers, for example, copolymers having a macromolecule of formula (1) with a molecular weight of greater than 30,000. As mentioned above, the monohydric compound (also referred to herein as monoalcohol) may be present as one of the components of the reaction mixture. In such a case, the copolymer of the invention can be described as including a macromolecule of the formula (5): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a carbocyclic group derived from CHDA; R2 is a polyalkylenoxide moiety derived from PAODA; R5 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyalkylenoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 100; and n is an integer of at least 1 1. By specifying that n is an integer of at least 11, the present invention is directed to relatively high molecular weight copolymers, for example, copolymers having a macromolecule of formula (1) with a molecular weight greater than 30,000. In another aspect of the invention, a polyamide-polyether block copolymer is provided, which is necessarily made from dimer acid and poly (alkylaloxy) diamine (or reactive equivalent thereof), both as described above, but is not necessarily from CHDA. In this aspect, the present invention provides a copolymer formed from a reaction mixture comprising dimer acid, poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine, and short chain aliphatic diamine (SDA). In this aspect, the reaction mixture will include some amount ("x grams" for convenience) of poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine and some amount ("and grams" for convenience) of short chain aliphatic diamine. PAODA must be present in greater proportion by weight compared to the sum of PAODA and SDA, and more preferably, x / (x + y) is approximately 0.8-0.98. In addition, PAODA must contribute a significant amount of the weight of the total reagents. For example, if the reaction mixture has a total weight ("z grams" for convenience), then PAODA contributes at least 25% of that weight, ie, x / z > 0.25. In related aspects, x / z is at least 0.3, or at least 0.35, or at least 0.4, or at least 0.45, or at least 0.5. In addition, the reaction mixture does not contain co-diacid, or comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, wherein, if the reaction mixture comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, then the co-diacid acid equivalents contribute less of 25% of the total acid equivalents of dimer acid and co-diacid. Although it tends to increase the point of softening of the co-polymer, co-diacid is not very desirable in this formulation because its presence tends to increase the crystallinity of the copoimer, and thus reduce the good gelation properties of the co-polymer. The discussion of PAODA as stated above for the CHDA-containing copolymers apply equally to these PODA-containing copolymers that do not necessarily contain CHDA. For example, in one aspect, the copoiimer has a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C. In another aspect, the dimer acid is the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixture. In another aspect wherein co-diacid is present in the reaction mixture, the co-diacid contributes less than 10% of the total acid equivalents of dimer acid and co-diacid. In another aspect, PAODA and SDA together constitute at least 95% by weight of the diamine compounds present in the reaction mixture. In another aspect, the reaction mixture includes poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine having a molecular weight of at least 400 g / mol. In another aspect, co-diacid is not present in the reaction mixture. In other aspects, PAODA is about 80-98% by weight of poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine plus short chain aliphatic diamine.; and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine residues are at least 20%, or at least 30%, or at least 40%, or at least 50% of the total weight of the copolymer. As briefly mentioned above, in any of the polyamide-polyether copolymers of the present invention, the reaction mixture used to form the copolymer may contain some monofunctional reagent which will mainly serve to adjust the molecular weight of the copolymer and reduce the number of acid and amine of the copolymer. Such monofunctional reagents are, in one embodiment, selected from monocarboxylic acid, monoamine and monoalcohol. The term "monocarboxylic acid" refers to an organic molecule having a unique carboxylic acid group, ie, a unique group of the structure -COOH. The term "monoamine" refers to an organic molecule having a unique amine group, wherein the amine group can be a primary or secondary amine. The term "monoalcohol" refers to an organic molecule having a hydroxyl group (-OH). An exemplary monofunctional reagent is a monocarboxylic acid having the structure R-COOH, wherein R is polyether, alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl. Another exemplary monofunctional reagent is a monoamine of the R-NH2 structure. As used herein, "alkyl" refers to a monovalent hydrocarbyl radical containing only single bonds, while "alkenyl" and "alkynyl" are monovalent hydrocarbyl radicals containing at least one C = C double bond and one triple C bond. = C, respectively. The presence of monocarboxylic acid or monoamine in the reaction mixture serves to inhibit further elongation of the resulting polyamide chains, thus preventing the molecular weight of the copolymer from becoming too long. Exemplary monocarboxylic acids for use in this invention include, without limitation, short chain aliphatic carboxylic acids, saturated fatty acids (eg, wherein R is alkyl) and unsaturated fatty acids (eg, wherein R is alkenyl or alkynyl) ! Exemplary short-chain aliphatic carboxylic acids include, without limitation, acetic, propionic and butanoic acids, while exemplifying saturated fatty acids include, without limitation, valeric, capric, caprylic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, isostearic, arachidic acids , Behenic, Lignoceric, Cerotic and Montanic, and unsaturated grade acids include, without limitation, caproléic, palmitoléico, oleic, vacénico, eládico, brasídico, erúcico and nervónico acids. In several additional aspects of the invention, the monocarboxylic acid is up to about 20 weight percent, more preferably up to about 10 weight percent, and even more preferably up to about 5 weight percent, of the reaction mixture used to form a copolymer of the present invention. Exemplary monoalcohols are the monoamines as described above wherein the terminal amine group is replaced with a hydroxyl group, and the monocarboxylic acid groups as described above wherein the terminal carboxylic acid group has been reduced as a primary alcohol group. When the monofunctional reagent is present in a polyamide-forming reaction mixture, the amount of monofunctional reagent can be selected in view of the preferred molecular weight of the product polyamide. The molecular weight decreases as the amount of monofunctional reagent in the reaction mixture increases. In several aspects, the monofunctional reagents contribute, less than 5%, or less than 10%, or less than 15%, or less than 20%, or less than 25%, or less than 30%, or less than 40%, or less than 50% of the total weight of the reactants forming polyamide in the polyamide-forming reaction mixture. In one aspect, the monofunctional reagent is monoamine, while in another aspect the monofunctional reagent is monoacid, while in another aspect the monofunctional reagent is monocarboxylic acid. In yet another aspect, the reaction mixture includes polyether monoamine. In the polyamide-polyether block copolymers of the present invention, the inclusion of a significant level of PAODA in the polyamide-forming reaction mixture, or in other words, the inclusion of polyether functionality located between two amide groups, allows These copolymers form clear solutions and / or clear gels in a wide range of organic liquids. It is desirable that the reaction mixture used to form the copolymer contains very little PAODA. Very little PAODA results in a hard copolymer having a medium to high softening point, but with poor ability to gel an organic liquid. In the extreme case, the copolymer is simply incompatible with the organic liquid, and will dissolve in the organic liquid when it is heated. Although it is generally preferred that a copolymer contains a high level of PAODA, for gelation of some organic liquids a copolymer can contain a lot of PAODA and has little or no gelation ability. In the extreme case here, the copolymer dissolves very easily in the organic liquid, but the polyamide molecules are solvated so that a gel can not be established. For optimum gelation performance properties according to the present invention, the copolymer is prepared from a reaction mixture which preferably has about 25-80% by weight, more preferably 30-60% by weight PAODA. As an exemplary preparation scheme for the copolymers of the present invention, the reactive components are charged to a reaction flask fitted with a thermocouple probe, nitrogen inlet, and magnetic stir bar. The flask has a vapor outlet leading to a moisture trap and exiting the back of a smoke layer. The flask is then covered with aluminum foil or an insulating glass fiber pad, and the reaction mixture is heated to about 220 ° C under a gentle stream of nitrogen as fast as occasional foaming allows. The flow of nitrogen is then increased to aid in the removal of water, and the reaction mixture is maintained at this temperature for about 6 hours. In most cases, these conditions result in a copolymer having satisfactory amine and acid numbers (typically each less than 15). The reaction mixture is then cooled to room temperature and discharged, providing a copolymer suitable for use as a liquid gellant. The method of a vessel as described above is probably the simplest method for preparing small amounts of a copolymer of the present invention. However, especially when more than two reagents are used to prepare the copolymer, or to prepare very large amounts of copolymer, these reagents can be measured in the reaction package instead of being all charged once at the beginning of the reaction. The reaction vessel can be covered to allow heating by hot oil. The package can also be equipped with a motor-driven blade-blade agitator, and is preferably configured so that it is capable of evacuation at a low pressure to assist in the removal of water. The polyamide-polyether copolymers of the present invention are particularly useful as gelling agents, also known as rheology modifiers. That is, the combination of polyamide-polyether and a liquid results in the formation of a gel. In a typical analysis for gelation ability of the polyamide-polyether copolymers of the present invention, about 0.6 grams of copolymer and about 3.4 grams of liquid are charged to a test tube before being covered with aluminum foil. The test tube is placed in an oven at approximately 1 15 ° C and incubated for approximately 1 hour. The tube is then removed, stir while still hot in a vortex shaker briefly to ensure good copolymer contact with the solvent, and return to the oven. After incubation for approximately 1 additional hour, the tube is removed and allowed to cool to room temperature. The tubes containing copolymers do not dissolve completely after this treatment, they are placed in an oven approximately 1 0 ° C warmer, and the process is repeated until the copolymer is completely dissolved. The sample is then removed from the oven and allowed to cool. The cooled copolymer solution is then classified for the gel quality as follows: "Gel": solution does not flow or collapses when inverted and shaken strongly; "Gelatin": the solution collapses, or breaks when it is shaken; "Pasta": the mixture is soft, misty to very cloudy and inhomogeneous, collapses or flows when it is inverted; "2-Phases": dissolves when it is hot but separates when it is cooled in the hazy / foggy phases. "Incompatible": the copolymer does not dissolve when hot, it forms a separate solid top layer; "Soluble": the solution is clear and fluid.

The clarity of the copolymer solutions can be characterized as follows: "Clear crystal", wherein this term is self-explanatory; "Misty": the solution is not clear but the impression is readable when viewed through the solution, where the modifiers include, "very", "light", and "very light"; and "Nebulous: can not see through the solution, where the modifiers include" very "," light "and" very light. "In one aspect of the present invention, the polyamide-polyether copolymer is a gelling agent for Atyl lactate, that is, a gel is formed when the copolymer and ethyl lactate are combined as described above In other words, following the procedure outlined above, the resulting mixture at room temperature is a "gel." In another aspect The polyamide-polyether copolymer is a gelling agent for dibutyl adipate In this way, the present invention provides a composition comprising a polyamide-polyether copolymer as described herein, and a compound or mixture of compounds, where the compound or mixture is a liquid at room temperature in a clear form This composition will typically be fluid at room temperature, and will typically be a gel at room temperature. It has a functional group, that is, the compound is not simply a hydrocarbon. In several aspects, that functional group is ester, or an ether, or a halogen, or a carbonate, or a sulfoxide. Mixtures that can gel can contain two, three or many of these compounds and functional groups. The specific compounds and class of compounds that can be gelled by the polyamide-polyether copoimers of the invention are described below, however, it should be appreciated that the co-polymers described herein are capable of gelling a wide range of organic liquids and mixtures of organic liquids In one aspect, organic liquids suitable for gelation by the polyamide polyether copoimers of the present invention are polar in nature. As used herein, "organic" refers to a chemical component containing at least one carbon atom. A polar liquid is one that shows dominant structural portions of positive and negative charge induced (eg, methanol), whereas a non-polar liquid is one in which the molecular structure is devoid of regions having positive and negative charge induced (e.g., carbon tetrachloride). Exemplary organic liquids suitable for gelation by the co -omers of the present invention include, without limitation, alcohols such as ethanol and propylene glycol; separation solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide (i.e., DMSO), N-methylpyrrolidinone (i.e., NMP), various terpenes and various acetones; epoxies such as EPON ™ 828 (Resolution Perfomance Products, Houston, TX); and polymerizable monomers including alkyl acrylates, polyacrylates and styrene resin solutions. The ester-containing compounds are another class of liquids suitable for gelation by the copolymers of the present invention. an ester-containing compound will include the structural formula -C (= 0) -0-, and preferably includes the structural formula -C (= 0) -0-R6 wherein R6 is selected from C1-22 hydrocarbyl groups-Such esters may be monofunctional esters (that is, they have a single ester moiety) or they can be polyfunctional (ie, have more than one ester group). Suitable esters include, but are not limited to, the reaction products of d.24 monoalcohols with C1-22 monocarboxylic acids, wherein the carbon atoms can be installed in a linear, branched and / or cyclic manner, and the unsaturation can be be optionally present between carbon atoms. Preferably, the ester has at least about 18 carbon atoms. Examples include, but are not limited to, fatty acid esters such as methyl oleate., methyl linoleate and mixtures containing methyl oleate and methyl linoleate such as methyl soyate and other methyl esters of vegetable oil, isopropyl isostearate, n-propyl myristate, isopropyl myristate, n-propyl palmitate and palmitate of isopropyl. Other suitable esters include alkyl benzoates such as FINNSOLV ™ EB and FINNSOL ™ TN, alkyl salicylates such as methyl salicylate (also known as pyrole oil), eftalates such as dioctyl phthalate, glycerol and propylene glycol esters of acids fatty acids, such as the so-called polyglycerol fatty acid esters (for example, esters suitable for use in cosmetic formulations, such as glyceryl monostearate and triglycerides). Poly (alkyleneoxy) ethers are another class of liquids suitable for gelation for copolymers of the present invention. Suitable poly (alkyleneoxy) ethers include, without limitation, polyethylene glycol; propylene glycol; ethylene glycol ether DOWANOL ™ EPH and monomethyl glycol dipropylene ether DOWANOL ™ DPM (available from Dow Chemical, Midland, MI., USA); surfactants such as TERGITOL ™ NP-4 and TRITON ™ X-100 (both available from Union Carbide), SURFONIC ™ 40, SURFONIC ™ DNP-100, and SURFONIC ™ N-60 (all available from Huntsman Chemicals, Houston, TX) , and polyoxyethylene monolaurate (sold as G LYCOS PERSE ™ L20 by Lonza, Inc., Fair Lawn, NJ). Especially suitable are surfactants useful for preparing cosmetics and having an HLB number greater than 4 and less than 20, preferably 6-16. Such surfactants are well known in the art. In additional aspects, the present invention provides various articles of manufacture that include a polyamide-polyether copolymer as described herein. For example, one aspect of the present invention provides a gelled article that includes an active ingredient. In one embodiment, this aspect of the invention provides a geared composition that emits or otherwise makes available in its environment around one or more active ingredients of the geiada composition. Illustrative active ingredients are fragrance materials, insecticides, insecticide repellents and bioactive ingredients. In another embodiment, the active ingredient can be active while remaining within the gel. Examples of such active ingredients include, without limitation, colorant and sunscreen. Thus, this aspect of the invention provides air fresheners, fragrance tubes, soft fragranced gels, insect repellents, color supply compositions, sunscreens and other dermatological compositions, and the like. In one aspect, the active ingredient is somehow volatile so that it can be released and released from the gel. However, the active ingredient may become volatile under the conditions of use for the article. For example, an active ingredient may be emitted in the sense that it migrates to the surface of the gel and then comes into contact with the environment. Articles that emit an active ingredient in the environment to have the desired effect may, for convenience, collectively refer to herein as controlled release compositions. In one aspect, the active ingredient is a fragrance material. Fragrance materials include fine perfumes and comfort fragrance materials. Because most of the fragrance materials are at least moderately polar organic liquids, having functional groups such as alcohols, ethers, ketones and esters, a large number of suitable fragrance materials known to one skilled in the art can be gelled by the copolymers of the present invention. the fragrance-containing compositions of the present invention are provided to control the shape and release of fragrance, i.e. , providing the fragrance in the form of a solid gel with a fixed release of fragrance that lasts for a long time. When the fragrance material is a fine fragrance, the gelled composition is preferably in the form of a tube, which can place rubber on a surface to provide a layer of fragrance release material. Such a composition will be referred to herein as a fragrance tube. Alternatively, the gelled composition may be a "soft gel" by which is meant a composition of similar consistency to a gelatin. A soft gel typically does not preserve its structure under tension, and is thus preferably contained within a jar or the like. A soft gel can be applied to the skin or other surface by dipping a finger in the gel and then placing rubber over the residue of the finger over another area of the skin. The term "fine fragrance" generally refers to fragrances that are used in fine (for example, expensive) perfumes. Alternativelyso. , the gelled composition can be an object of useful and attractive shape that retains its shape or shrinks slightly when the fragrance is released. Such a composition will be referred to herein as an air freshener as it is useful for flavoring or "refreshing" a room, closet, automobile or other enclosed space. In a tube with typical fragrance, air freshener or soft gel of the invention, the fine fragrance is present at a concentration within the range of about 1-70% by weight of the composition, and preferably constitutes about 2-25% by weight of the composition. The copolymer is typically present at a concentration within the range of about 5-50% by weight of the composition, and is preferably present within the range of about 10-20% by weight. Larger or smaller amounts of these ingredients may be present, depending on the desired consistency of the tube and the compatibility of the fragrance with the copolymer. In general, the structure of the gel becomes firmer as the concentration of the polyamide-polyether block copolymer increases in the fragrance tube, air freshener, or soft gel and all of these can adopt a "tube" type consistency, which refers to a gel, very firm, even autonomous. The combination of the polyamide-polyether block copolymer and fragrance can provide a clear or transparent structure. Such transparent structure can increase the aesthetic appearance and application areas of the tube, refreshing and gel in the market. The above articles of this invention are prepared from components that include a polyamide-polyether block copolymer as described herein. A typical inventive air freshener, fragrance tube or fragrance gel contains polyamide-polyether copolymer in a concentration range of about 5-60% by weight, and fragrance in a concentration range of about 1-70, wherein these Percent values are based on the total weight of the item. The amounts of polyamide-polyether copolymer and fragrance present in the air freshener can be varied out of these typical ranges, and still provide a useful product. The precise amounts of polyamide-polyether copolymer and fragrance to be used to prepare an article will depend on the qualities of the particular polyamide-polyether copolymer. Typically, a fragrance rich content is desirable in, for example, an air freshener because such an air freshener can potentially have a longer shelf life. It is usually advantageous to include a colorant, typically a dye, in the article to present an attractive appearance. Color levels are typically low on a weight basis, in the range of 0.05% to 2%. Another active ingredient that can be incorporated into a gel of the invention is an anti-insect chemical. The term "anti-insect chemical" is intended to comprise materials that are toxic, disgusting or attractive to an insect. The gel containing the anti-insect chemical preferably has the consistency of a tube, or at least a firm gel, and will be referred to herein for convenience as an insect tube. The insect tube of the invention can be used to impart an anti-insect residue, in the form of a thin film, to a surface. Such a residue may be placed on the surface of a cupboard, for example, to maintain and / or repel insects from the cupboard. Alternatively, the thin film can be applied to the skin, to repel insects such as skin mosquitoes.

In a typical insect tube of the invention, the content of polyamide-polyether copolymer will vary from about 5-60% by weight of the tube, and preferably ranges from about 10-50% by weight. The anti-insect chemical content will typically vary from 0.1-30% by weight. The amount of anti-insect chemical to be used in the insect tube will depend on the potency of the anti-insect chemical, as well as its compatibility with the polyamide-polyether copolymer. Suitable anti-insect chemistries include boric acid, synthetic pyrethroid, D-empenthrin and DEET. Other anti-insect chemicals as are known in the art can alternatively be incorporated into the gel of the invention. Such a chemical is referred to as a pheromone. Such material can influence the behavior of an insect and thus be used to control the population. A pheromone can, for example, attract an insect to an area where it does not cause damage or can be trapped. The following is a list of chemicals that can be included in the polyamide-polyether copolymer-containing formulation of the present invention, wherein the release of the chemical into the environment will affect the behavior of insects: E or? -13-octadecenll acetate, E or Z-1 1-hexadecenal; E o? -9-hexadecenal; hexadecanal; E or Z-1 1 hexadecenyl acetate; E o? -9-hexadecenyl acetate; E or Z-1 1 -tetradecenal; E o? -9-tetradecenal; tetradecanal; E or Z-1 1 -tetradecenyl acetate; E o? -9-tetradecenyl acetate; E o? -7-tetradecenyl acetate; E or? -5-tetradecenyl acetate; E o? -4-tridecenil acetate; E or Z-9-dodecenyl acetate; E or Z-8 dodecenyl acetate; E o? -5-dodecenyl acetate; dodecenyl acetate; 1 -dodecenyl acetate; dodecyl acetate; E o? -7-decenyl acetate; E or? -5-decenyl acetate; E or? -3-decenyl acetate; Z or E, Z or E 3,13-octadecadienyl acetate; Z or E, Z or E 2, 13-octadecienyl acetate; Z, Z or E-7, 1-hexadecadiene acetate; Z, E 9, 12-tetradecadienyl acetate; E, E-8, 10-dodecadienyl acetate; Z, E 6, 8-heneicosadien-1-one; E, E 7,9-heneicosadien-1 1 -one; Z-6-henicosen-1 1 -one; 7,8-epoxy-2-methyloctadecane; 2-methyl-7-octadecene, 7,8-epoxyoctadecane, Z, Z, Z-1, 3, 6,9-nonadecatetraene; 5,11-dimethylheptadecane; 2,5-dimethylheptadecane; 6-ethyl-2,3-dhydro-2-methyl-4H-pyran-4-one; methyl jasmonate; alpha-pinene; beta-pinene; terpinolene; lemon; 3-careno; p-cimeno; heptane; ethyl crotonate; myrcene; camfeno; camfor; cineol; alpha-cubebeno; alil anisóla; undecanal; nonanal; heptanal; -2 hexenal; ? -3-hexenal; hexanal; verbenone; verbenone; Verbenol; 3-methyl-2-cyclohexenone; 3-methyl-3-cyclohexenone; frontalin; exo and endo brevicomin; lineatin; multistriatin; chalcogran; 7-methyl-1, 6-dioxaspiro (4,5-decane, 4, 8-dimethyl-4 (E), 8 (E) -decadienolide; 1-methyl-3 (Z) -undecenolide; Z-3-dodecenderate; 1-S-Z, Z-3,6-dodecen-1-ylide; Z-5-tetradecen-13-ylide; Z, Z-5,8-tetradecen-13-yl; Z-14-methyl-; 8-hexadecenal, 4,8-dimethyldecanoate, gamma-caprolactone, hexyl acetate, -2-hexenyl acetate, butyl-2-methylbutanoate, propylhexanoate, hexylpropanoate, butylhexanoate, hexylbutanoate, butyl butyrate, E-crotylbutyrate, and -9-tricosene.; methyl eugenol; alpha-ionone; 4- (p-hydroxyphenyl) -2-butanone acetate; E-beta-farnasene; nepetalactone; 3-methyl-6-isopropenyl-9-decenyl acetate; Z-3-methyl-6- isopropenyl-3, 9-decanediyl acetate; E or Z-3,7-dimethyl-2,7-octadecadienyl propionate; 2,6-dimethyl-1,5-heptadien-3-ol acetate; Z-2, 2 -d.methyl-3-isopropylcyclobutanemethane acetate; E-6-isopropyl-3,9-dimethyl-5,8-decadienyl acetate; Z-5- (1 -decenyl) dihydro-2 (3H) -furanone; 2-Phenothylpropionate; 3-methylene-7-methyl-7-octenyl-propionate; 1,1-dimethyl-2-nonacosanone; 8-methylene-5 - (1-methylethyl) spiro (1,1-oxabicyclo) 8.1.0-undecene-2,2-oxiran-3-one; 2-propylthiethene; 3-propyl-1,2-dithiolane; 3,3-dimethyl-1,2-dithiolane; 2,2-dimethylthiethene; E or Z-2, 4,5-trimethylthiazoline; 2-sec-butyl-2-thiazoline; and isopentenyl methyl sulfide. Specific pheromones include the following: 8-methyl-2-decyl-propionate; 14-methyl-1-octadecene; 9-tricosenso; tridecenil acetate; dodecyl acetate; dodecenyl acetate; tetradecenyl acetate; tetradecadienyl acetate; hexadecenyl acetate; hexadecadienyl acetate; hexadecatrienyl acetate; octadecenyl acetate; dodecadienyl acetate; octadecadienyl acetate; Z, E-9, 12-tetradecadiene-1 -ol; hexadecenal; octadecenal; acetophenone; amyl acetate; isoamyl acetate; vanilla; or a selected flavor of coffee, fennel and cinnamon flavor. Other active ingredients that may be included in an article of manufacture of the present invention function primarily while remaining within the gel. Examples of such active ingredients include colorant and sunscreen. When the active ingredient is a colorant, then the product can be used to impart desired coloration to a surface, and / or hide the undesirable and underlying coloration. The active agent may be a sunscreen, wherein suitable sunscreens include, without limitation, PABA, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, oxybenzene, 2-ethylhexyl saicylic, octylsalicylate, and metal oxide such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide. Zinc oxide and titanium oxide diffuse light so that less light hits the underlying skin. Another active ingredient that can be included in an article of manufacture of the present invention is a bioactive compound. As used herein, a bioactive compound acts in a biological system to produce a desirable result. In a preferred embodiment, the bioactive compound can be applied to a person's skin, to have a desirable effect on the person. The gel of the present invention in this manner can serve as a vehicle for delivering the bioactive compound to the biological system, and / or as a means to maintain the bioactive compound in a site to which it has been delivered, and / or as a repository of bioactive compound that provides controlled release of the bioactive compound to the system. The amount of this type of active ingredient to be incorporated into the composition will depend on the desired effect, and such amount can be readily determined by one skilled in the art and without undue experimentation. At a minimum, the amount must be an effective amount. Typically 0.1-25% by weight, and more typically 0.5-10% by weight of the active ingredient is sufficient, wherein the% by weight value is based on the complete weight of the composition. The bioactive compound may be a cosmetic / dermatological agent that produces a desirable result in the host when applied to the skin of the host. Exemplary desirable results include, without limitation, anti-fungal activity, treatment of hemorrhoids, anti-itch treatment, water reduction or withdrawal, antibiotic activity, anti-wrinkle, and analgesic effects. Cosmetic / dermatological agents include, without limitation, acetylsalicylic acid, acyclovir, 6- [3- (1-adamyl) -4-methoxyphenol] -2-naphthoic acid, amphotericin B, ascorbic acid, bezoyl peroxide, betamethasone valerate , chloroxylenol, citric acid, clindatnicin phosphate, clobetasol propionate, clotrimazole, cyproheptadiene, diclofenac, diphenylhydramine hydrochloride, econazole, erythromycin, estradiol, glycolic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, hydrocortisone, hydroquinone, ibuprofen, ketoconazole, kojic acid, lactic acid, lidocaine hydrochloride, metronidazole, miconazole, miconazole nitrate, octopirox, 5-n-octanoylsalicylic acid, paracetamol, pramoxine hydrochloride, progesterone, retinoic acid, retinol, salicylic acid, superoxide dismutases, terbinafine, tenaldine, tocopherol, tolnaftate, trimprazine, 1, 8,10-tripopionil-9-anthrone, undecylenate, and vitamin D. The bioactive agent can function as a topical analgesic, as a of topical analgesics include, without limitation, camphor, capsaicin, menthol, methyl salicylate, and trolamine salicylate. The bioactive agent can function as an anti-fungal agent, wherein the exemplary antifungal agents include, without limitation, clotrimazole, miconazole nitrate, tolnaftate, and undecylenate. Exemplary anti-itch agents include, without limitation, pramoxine hydrochloride and diphenylhydramine hydrochloride. An exemplary anti-warts compound for inclusion in a gel of the invention is salicylic acid. An exemplary hemorrhoid treating compound for inclusion in a gel of the invention is hydrocortisone. An exemplary antibiotic compound for inclusion in a gel of the invention is chloroxylenol. The bioactive agent can function as an aid to heal wounds to prevent and reduce injury to mammalian cells and increase the rate of resuscitation of damaged mammalian cells, wherein an exemplary wound healing aid is a combination of (a) pyruvic acid and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and (b) a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids required for repair of cell membranes and mammalian cell resuscitation. The bioactive agent may be an antioxidant, which inhibits the suppression or oxidation reactions promoted by oxygen or peroxides, wherein exemplary antioxidants include, without limitation, vitamin A, vitamin E, and derivatives thereof. The bioactive agent can function as an anti-acne agent. Exemplary anti-acne agents include, without limitation, benzolyl peroxide and vitamin A acid. The amount of bioactive ingredient to be incorporated into the gel of the invention will de on the efficacy of the bioactive ingredient and the desired effect. This amount can be determined by a person skilled in the art without undue experimentation. At a minimum, the amount of being an effective amount. Typically, 0.1% by weight to 25% by weight, and more typically 0.2% by weight to 10% by weight of bioactive ingredient is sufficient. The article of manufacture containing a polyamide-polyether copolymer of the present invention can be a personal care product, wherein exemplary personal care products include, without limitation, eye makeup (mask, shade), nail varnish, facial cleansers, lipsticks, foundation makeup, common makeup, as well as baby oil, makeup removers, bath oils, skin moisturizers, sun care products, lip balm, waterless hand cleansers, medicated ointments, products for ethnic hair care, perfume, cologne and suppositories. In addition, the polyamide-polyether copolymer-containing gels of the present invention can be used in household products such as automotive wax / polishers, candles, furniture polishers, metal cleaners / polishers, household cleaners, paint separators and insecticidal vehicles. The polyamide-polyether copolymer-containing gels of the present invention can also be used in industrial products such as fuels (severe, lighter fire initiators), bath rings, lubricants / greases, wire wrapping lubricants, full of cables and gaskets, solder flux, regulatory compounds, crayons and markers, molding clay, rust preservatives, printing inks, paints, protective / removable coatings, and jet inks. Formulations for preparing such materials are well known in the art. For example, US Patents. UU Nos. 3,615,289 and 3,645,705 describe the candle formulations. US Patents Nos. 3,148, 125 and 5,538,718 describe the formulation of lipstick and other cosmetic tubes. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,275,054, 4,937,069, 5,069,897, 5, 102,656 and 5,500,209 each describe the formulation of the deodorant and / or antiperspirant. The gels of the present invention containing an active ingredient may additionally contain optional ingredients. The optional ingredients may serve one or more purposes, such as to facilitate the formation of a homogeneous gel, increase the supply properties of the product, increase the aesthetic appearance of the product, increase the product's ability to release the active ingredient, etc. A suitable optional ingredient is a colorant. The addition of the dye to a gel to be applied to the skin or other surface will provide a marker so that the gel residue will be visible on the surface. A gel or tube with preferred fragrance, absent of dye, is clear and transparent, although the soft gel or fragranced tube of the present invention may be opaque or translucent. In any case, the addition of dye may increase the visual appearance of the gel or tube with fragrance, and the residue is provided when the tube or gel is covered with rubber across a surface. The colorant may be a dye or pigment, and is preferably non-irritating to the skin when the gel is applied to the skin. Such dyes are well known in the art and are useful in, for example, cosmetics such as lipstick and eye shadow. When present, the dye is typically needed in only small amounts, for example, less than 5% by weight, and often as little as 1% by weight or even 0.1% by weight is sufficient to impart a desired color to the gel. If a more intense coloration is desired, then the amount of colorant in the gel may be increased. When coloring is desired, the colorant must be present in an effective amount to provide the desired coloration. Other optional components may serve to increase the processing of the gel with the active ingredient. For example, the optional component can facilitate the formation of a homogeneous mixture between the gellant of the polyamide-polyether copolymer and the active ingredient. In addition, the optional component will typically influence the consistency of the gel, and can be used to impart improved delivery properties to the tube or gel. For example, in some cases, the incorporation of volatile hydrocarbon or alcohol can improve the homogeneity of the active ingredient-gel combination, as well as promote the delivery of a thin layer of gel to the skin, with the absence of a concomitant wet residue that can otherwise be present.

The copolymers of the present invention can be used to prepare gelled compositions useful as waxes and varnishes, and the present invention provides a method for imparting a glossy appearance to a substrate using a copolymer of the present invention. Details of the preparation of such compositions, and the use of such compositions, are found in Document No. PCOM000009045D, accessed through www.ip.com, where the copolymers of the present invention can be used in place of, or in combination with, the gelatins described in this document. Basically, by using a gelling component, varnish and wax compositions imparting lasting gloss, water resistance and lasting spoilage, and minimum removal of dirt to applied substrates, can be prepared using the copolymers of the present invention. These compositions show adhesion to higher polyurethane coatings in the automotive finishing market to date. Surprisingly, the compositions showing these properties can be generated very simply by requiring a formulation containing as few as 2 or 3 components, and nothing unlike heat and a simple agitation motor for assembling a composition that is homogeneous in appearance, and similar a gel, similar to cream or similar to pasta in consistency. In this way, these compositions are easy to manufacture and make excellent waxes and varnishes for furniture, automobiles and other substrates. The varnish and wax compositions contain gellant, solvent that is gelled by the gellant, and optional ingredients. These compositions are preferably homogeneous in appearance, cream-like, gel-like or paste-like in consistency, and are easily applied to substrate surfaces. A paste form of the composition may include an aliphatic solvent, while an emulsion of the composition may be prepared for liquid / cream applications. The gels preferably have a non-crystalline (transparent) structure for excellent film formation and flat (smooth) surface generation for high gloss development. UV stable and non-UV stable systems can be used as intermediates in the integrity of the long-lasting film. The copolymer imbues the compositions with good hydrolytic stability at extreme room temperature and humidity. The waxes can demonstrate excellent water repellance / pearling. The copolymers of the present invention can be used to prepare gelled compositions useful as fire-igniting fluids, and the present invention both provides such gelled compositions and provides methods for using such gelled compositions as fire-igniting fluids. The details of the preparation of such compositions, and the use of such compositions, are found in Document No. IPCOM000001 0393 D, accessed at www. ip.com, wherein the copolymers of the present invention can also be used in place of, or in combination with, the gelatins described herein. Fluid fire lighters can be very efficient means to start a fire. The low viscosity of these fluids can, however, prevent practical and safe use. The gelation of these fluids is an elegant way to overcome these disadvantages. Currently such systems already exist for ethanol-based systems and are highly successful. However, the low flash point of ethanol is still a point of interest, both in production and in application at the consumer level. The present invention is provided to generate a gelled fire lighter system based on mineral oils and other fuels with a much higher flash point and therefore safer using the copolymer gelling agents of the present invention. The copolymers of the present invention can be used to prepare gelled fiber reinforced plastic and gel coatings. The details of the preparation of such compositions, and the use of such compositions, are found in Document No. IPCOM000007401 D, accessed at www.ip.com where the copolymers of the present invention can be used in place of, or in combination with, the gelatins described herein. . Gel-free liquid compositions suitable for building fiber reinforced plastics and gel coatings are provided herein, which comprise a matrix liquid and a copolymer of the present invention, the liquid being a mixture of one or more polymerizable monomers, a unsaturated polyester resin, a curing catalyst and optional components such as solvent and inert filler and an organic polyamide gellant. The copolymer of the present invention is easily incorporated into the liquid matrix composition by gentle heating and / or high shear mixing to form, when cooled, a thinner, homogeneous, thixotropic gel which prevents separation of the liquid from the matrix. fiber or falling out of the gel coating. The copolymers of the present invention can be used to prepare gelled compositions useful for removing coatings from coated surfaces. Details of the preparation of such compositions, and the use of such compositions, are found in Document No. IPCOM000005738D, accessed at www.ip.com, where the copolymers of the present invention can be used in place of, or in combination with, , the gelatins described in this document. Simply established, the organic coatings can be removed from their substrates by treating the coated substrate with a gelled organic solvent, wherein the gelant is, or includes, the copolymer of the present invention. For example, paint can be separated from metal, wood, etc., by the process of contacting the paint with a gelled composition formed of turpentine or other organic solvent in combination with the copolymer of the present invention. The coating dissolves in the gel and / or the gel solvent is able to diffuse between the coating and the underlying substrate, thus dissolving and / or losing the coatings so that the process of removing the gel also removes some or all of the coating . Multiple applications of gelled organic solvent may be necessary to completely remove the coating. A gel is particularly advantageous when the coated surface is placed vertically because the gel will resist passing down the coated surface, and according to the foregoing the gel will maintain contact with the surface as desired. The articles for manufacture of the invention can be prepared by combining a polyamide-polyether copolymer as described herein with a suitable liquid and with the active ingredient (s) and heating these materials with agitation until a uniform mixture. In cooling, the mixture will assume a consistency similar to a tube or gel. The invention is illustrated in more detail by the following examples. In the following examples, the chemicals were reagent grade unless otherwise noted, and are obtained from commercial supply sites such as Aldrich Chemical Co. (Milwaukee, WI, USA). DOWANOL ™ glycol ethers are available from The Dow Chemical Co. (Midland, MI, USA). DBE is "dibasic esters" any of a number of mixtures of the refined dimethyl esters of adipic, glutaric and succinic acids. Diesters DBE ™ diesters, as well as Dytek® diamine A, are available from DuPont (Wilmington, DE, USA). EMPOL ™ 1008 dimer acid is available from Henkel Corporation (Ambler, PA, USA). AZEROX ™ 144 azelaic acid and VERSAMINE® amima compounds are available from Cognis Corporation (Cincinnati, OH, USA). XTJ amine compounds, JEFFAMINE ™ D series diamines and M series monoamines are available from Huntsman Performance Chemicals (Houston, TX, USA). EXAMPLES EXAMPLE 1 To a 500 mL flask are charged these acids: 4.02 g (1.8% by weight / 4.2% eq.) Isostearic acid; 23.05g (10.3% by weight / 75.5% eq.) CHDA; and 20.66g (9.3% by weight / 20.2% eq.) EMPOL ™ 1008 dimer acid. These amines are also charged to the flask: 69.08g (31.0% by weight / 68.4% eq.) VERSAMINE ™ 551 dimer and 106.1 gm. (47.6% by weight / 29.9% eq.) JEFFAMI NE ™ D-2000 with a small amount of 25% aqueous hydrophobic acid (approximately 0.5 mL). This reaction mixture is heated for about 2 hours while stirring under a vigorous stream of nitrogen at 220 ° C and maintaining this temperature for an additional 4 hours, then poured. The product copolymer was rinsed with a light amber color, not tacky, flexible, and had an acid number of 2.3, an amine number of 0.6, and a softening point of 139.0 ° C. In the examination gelation test described herein (1-5% solids), this copolymer formed firm, clear gels in poly (propylene glycol) (mol weight 425), dimethyl sulfoxide, ethyl lactate, DOWANOL ™ EPH, 2 -ethylhexyl acetate, methyl soyate, and dibasic ester (dimethyl adipate). EXAMPLE 2 60. Og (50.8% by weight / 100.0% eq of acids) EMPOL ™ dimer acid 1 008, 53.1 g (44.9% by weight / 24.3% equiv. Of amines) are charged to a 250 mL flask. JEFFAMINE ™ D-2000, and 5.1 g (4.3% by weight / 81.5% eq of amines) ethylene diamine with a small amount of 25% aqueous hydrophobic acid (approximately 0.5 ml_). This reaction mixture is heated for about 2 hours while stirring under a vigorous stream of nitrogen at 220 ° C and maintaining this temperature for an additional 4 hours, then poured. The product copolymer was rinsed with almost non-amber, non-sticky, flexible color, and had an acid number of 1.6, an amine number of 2.1, and a softening point of 107.2 ° C. In the examination gelation test described herein (15% solids), this copolymer formed transparent still gels in poly (propylene glycol) (mol weight 425), ethoxyethyl propionate, ethyl lactate (mild), DOWANOL ™ EPH , 2-ethylhexyl acetate, xylene, methyl soyate, isopropyl palmitate, d-limonene, and a slightly brominated gel in DBE. EXAMPLES 3-8 and 1 C COPOLYMERS BASED ON DICHARBOXYLIC ACID OF CICLOHEXAN WITH PAODA These examples describe the preparation of polyamide-polyether copolymers comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA) m-dimer and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine ( PAODA), following the procedure of Examples 1 and 2, and the resulting physical properties thereof. The copolymer is prepared according to the percentages by weight shown in TABLE 1. The resulting product is allowed to cool to room temperature, and is valued for the physical properties as set forth in TABLE 1. In Table 1, Example 1C is a comparative example of a polyamide prepared without a polyether block. TABLE 1 Composition and physical properties of polyamide-polyether copolymers based on cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid with PAODA JEFFAMINE Series D, from Huntsman Chemicals n.d., not determined.

EXAMPLES 2C AND 10-15 POLYAMIDE GELANTS BASED ON DICARBOXYLIC ACID CYLOCHEXANIUM WITH PAODA These examples describe the ability of polyamide-polyether copolymers comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), dimer diamine and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), to form gels in admixture with various liquid solvents. To test the gelation efficiency, approximately 0.6 grams of copolymer and approximately 3.4 grams of liquid are charged to a test tube before being covered with aluminum foil. The test tube is placed in an oven at approximately 1 15 ° C and incubated for approximately 1 hour. The tube is then stirred, stirred while hot in a vortex stirrer briefly to ensure good contact of the polymer with the solvent, and returned to the furnace. After incubation for approximately 1 additional hour, the tube is removed and allowed to cool to room temperature. The tubes containing copolymers do not dissolve completely after this treatment is placed in an oven at about 10 ° C hotter, and the process is repeated until the copolymer is completely dissolved. The sample is then removed from the oven and allowed to cool. The cooled copolymer solution is then classified for gel quality as follows: "gel" means that the solution does not flow or collapse when reversed and shakes strongly; "gelatin" refers to a solution that collapses, or breaks when it is stirred; "paste refers to a mixture that is soft, misty to very cloudy and inhomogeneous, where a paste collapses or flows when it is inverted;" 2-Phases "means that the copolymer dissolves when it is hot but separates when it is cooled the nebulous / hazy phases "incompatible" means that the copolymer does not dissolve when hot, but instead forms a separate solid top layer, "soluble" means that the copolymer mixture and the solvent form a clear and fluid solution. The clarity of the cooled copolymer solutions can be characterized as follows: "clear crystal" means that one can see through the solution very easily, and the solution is essentially transparent; "misty" means that the solution is not clear but the printing (for example, newspaper printing) is legible when viewed through the solution, where the modifiers include, "very", "light", and "very light", and "nebulous" means that one does not You can see through the solution, where the modifiers include "very", "light" and "very light". Using these criteria, the test tubes charged with copolymer and liquid, and the resulting mixtures are characterized with the results shown in TABLE 2. The comparative examples are denoted by "C" following the example number.

TABLE 2 Summary of the results of the gelation test for polyamides based on cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid with PAODA * J EFFAMI NE SERI ES D, from Huntsman Chemicals.

EXAMPLES 15-1 8 DYMIC ACID BASE COPOLYMERS These examples describe the preparation of polyamide-polyether copolymers comprising dimer acid and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine, and the resulting physical properties thereof. These copolymers are prepared according to the procedure of Example 1. The composition and physical properties are shown in TABLE 3.

TABLE 3 Composition and physical properties of polyamide copolymers based on dimer acid #EMOREX and EMEROL are trademarks of Cognis, Corp., Cincinnati, OH. * Products of polyether diamine from H uman Chemicals.

EXAMPLES 19-22 DIAPER ACID POLYAMIDE GELANTS These examples describe the ability of polyamide-polyether copolymers comprising dimer acid and poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine, to form gels in admixture with various solvents. These solvent / copolymer mixtures are prepared and characterized as described in Examples 10-15. The findings are summarized in TABLE 4. TABLE 4 Summary of results of the galling test for polyamides based on dimer acid ~ means unrealized experiment or unused material EXAMPLE 23 Polyamide-polyether copolymer IDA-DICARBOXILIC CYCLOHEXANIC ACID-BASED POLYESTER DIMERIC ACID CONTAINING The polyamide-polyether copolymer is prepared according to the procedure of Example 1 using the percentages by weight of reagents shown in TABLE 5. The copolymer The resulting polymer was a clear, slightly soft, light amber, flexible polymer, having a softening point of 132.8 ° C, an acid number of 5.2, and an amine number of 2.1. Following the mixing and incubation of this polyamide-polyether copolymer with solvent according to the procedure indicated in EXAMPLES 10-15, it is determined that this copolymer formed firm gels when combined with any of the following three solvents: dimethyl sulfoxide, dipropylene glycol DOWANOL ™ DPM meter metil (Dow, Midland, MI, US) or ethyl lactate. TABLE 5 Polyamide-polyether copolymer composition EXAMPLE 24 DIAMETER ACID POLYAMIDE POLYAMIDE GELANTS CONTAINING A POLY (BUTILENOOXI) DIAMINE The polyamide-polyether copolymer is prepared according to the procedure using in Example 1, using the percentages by weight of reagents shown in TABLE 6. The resulting copolymer was a clear, slightly soft, very light, flexible polymer, having a softening point of 100.1 ° C, an acid number of 9.4, and an amine number of 1.9.

Following the mixing and incubation of this polyamide-polyether copolymer with solvent according to the procedure indicated in EXAMPLES 10-15, it is determined that this copolymer formed firm gels when combined with any of the following liquids: ethoxyethyl propionate, dipropylene glycol methyl ether DOWANOL ™ DPM (Dow, Midland, MI, USA), xylene, 2-ethylhexyl acetate, d-limonene, and methyl soyate. TABLE 6 Polyamide-polyether copolymer composition EXAMPLE 25 FRAGRANCE TUBE A gel base is first prepared by heating a mixture of 1.62 g of the copolymer of Example 1, 15.99 g of polypropylene glycol (MW = 425), and 10.00 g of dimethyl adipate (dibasic acid DBE- 6 ™ from Dupont, Wilmington, DE, USA) at 140 ° C, and maintained at this temperature with stirring for approximately 20 minutes. This base is cooled to 1 10 ° C, temperature at which it was still a fluid. To this fluid was added 10.80g (22.3% by weight) of a fragrance, mainly "Country Comfort" (Product No. 446151 of Firmenich, Plainsboro, NJ, USA; www.firmenich.com), where the temperature dropped to 82 ° C. After all the fragrance is added, the liquid is poured (while it is still hot) into a cylindrical tube mold 5.08 cm long by 1.27 cm in diameter and allowed to cool completely. The gel tube could be pressed as needed from the container and expanded into the skin. EXAMPLE 26 INSECT REPELLENT TUBE To a 250 mL flask are charged 46.4 g (46.4% by weight / 100% equiv. Acid) of EMPOL ™ 1008 dimer acid (Cognis Corp., Cincinnati, OH, USA), 50.0 g ( 50.0% by weight / 26% eq of amines) of diamine JEFFAMINE ™ D-2000 (Huntsman Chemical, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), and 3.6g (3.6% by weight / 74% eq. Of amines) of diamine of ethylene (Aldrich, Milwaukee, WI, USA), with a small amount of 25% aqueous hydrophophorous acid (approximately 0.5 mL). The reaction mixture is heated for about 2 hours while stirring under a vigorous stream of nitrogen at 220 ° C and maintained at this temperature for an additional 4 hours, then poured. The product copolymer was clear with almost nothing of amber color, not sticky although in a soft way, and had an acid number of 2.2, an amine number of 2.1, and a softening point of 103.5 ° C. In the selection gelation test described herein (15% solids), this copolymer formed clear gels in DMSO, poly (propylene glycol) (mol weight 425), NMP, ethyl lactate (mild), 2-ethylhexyl acetate ( slightly hazy), xylene (mild) and propylene carbonate (slightly hazy).

This copolymer and diethyl-m-toluidine (DEET) is heated and stirred with skin friendly carrier components as shown in Table 7 at about 130 ° C, except for d-limonene (orange oil). After the components form a homogenous, translucent mixture, the mixture is cooled to approximately 100 ° C and d-limonene is added. The mixture is poured while it is fluid and is heated in cylindrical tube molds of 5.08 cm long by 1.27 cm in diameter and allowed to cool completely. The gel tube could be pressed as needed from the container and diffused into the skin by rubbing. However, the amount of ge! not used but leaving the bra retains its shape. TABLE 7 Composition of insect repellent tube EXAMPLE 27 GEL TO REMOVE MAKEUP UNDERSTANDING A CO-POLYMER MADE WITH A DIHYDRICAL ALCOHOL To a 250 mL flask are charged 20. Og (17.7% by weight / 1 00% eq of acids) of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (CHDA) , Eastman Chemical, Kingsport, TN, USA), 10.0 g (8.8% by weight / 21.5% eq. Of acid reagents) polyethylene glycol (MW 400, Aldrich, Milwaukee, Wl, USA), 42.0 g (46.0% by weight /18.1% eq. Of acid reagents) JEFFAMINE ™ D-2000 (Huntsman Chemical, Salt Lake City, UT, USA), and 42. Og (36.3% by weight / 60.9% eq. Of acid reagents) dimer diamine VERSAMINE ™ 551 (Cognis Corp., Cincinnatl, OH, USA), with a small amount of 25% aqueous hydrophophorous acid (approximately 0.5 mL). This reaction mixture is heated for about 2 hours while stirring under a vigorous stream of nitrogen at 220 ° C and maintained at this temperature for an additional 4 hours, then poured. The product copolymer was clear with almost no amber color, no sticky flexible, and had an acid number of 3.0, an amine number of almost zero, and a softening point of 136.4 ° C. In the selection gelation test described herein (15% solids), this copolymer formed clear gels in DBE, poly (propylene glycol) (mol weight 425), ethoxy ethyl propionate, ethyl lactate, and 2-ethylhexyl acetate and a misty gel in methyl soyate. This copolymer (1.00 g) is heated and stirred until it is homogeneous with surfactant SURFONIC ™ L24-5 (HLB = 1 0.6) and isopropyl myristate (4.75 g, 39.4%), cooled to approximately 100 ° C and mixture with castor oil (1.44 g, 1.9%) and fragrance ("Follage" by IFF, New York, NY, USA 0.21 g, 1.7%). The mixture is poured with fluid and heated in a mold and allowed to cool completely. It spreads easily on the skin by rubbing and rinses easily with water. All US patents UU above, patent application publications, US patent applications. U.S., foreign patent applications, and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and / or listed in the application data sheet, are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although the specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. According to the foregoing, the invention is not limited except by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compounds comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), and one or more compounds diamine comprising poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine (PAODA), the reaction mixture containing no reactive monofunctional compound with either carboxylic acid or amine groups, wherein the compound (s) diamine further comprises diamine dimer.
2. A polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compounds comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), one or more diamine compounds comprising poly (alkenenoxy) diamine (PAODA), and one or more monofunctional compounds reactive with carboxylic acid groups, wherein the compound (s) diamine further comprises diamine dimer.
3. A polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compounds comprising 1,4-cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid (CHDA), one or more diamine compounds comprising poly (alkenenoxy) diamine (PAODA), and one or more monofunctional compounds reactive with amine groups, wherein the compound (s) diamine further comprises diamine dimer.
4. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that the softening point is between 100 ° C and 140 ° C.
5. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that CHDA is the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixture.
6. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s).
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the diacid compound (s) comprises (n) polymerized fatty acid.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that polymerized fatty acid provides less than 25% of the equivalents of the acid groups attributed to the diacid compound (s).
9. The copolymer according to claim 1, characterized in that the reaction mixture comprises a monohydric compound.
10. The copolymer according to claim 9, characterized in that the monohydric compound is poly (alkyleneoxy) monoalcohol. ' eleven .
The copolymer according to claim 1, characterized in that the reaction mixture comprises a monoamine compound.
12. The copolymer according to claim 1, characterized in that the monoamine compound is poly (alkyleneoxy) monoamine.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the reaction mixture further comprises a dihydric compound.
14. The copolymer according to claim 13, characterized in that the dihydric compound is poly (alkyleneoxy) dialcohol.
15. The copolymer according to claim 13, characterized in that the poly (alkyleneoxy) dialcohol compound is present in the reaction mixture in an amount of less than 40% eq. of the total equivalents of amine and hydroxyl present in the reaction mixture.
16. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that the reaction mixture further comprises a co-diacid.
17. The copolymer according to claim 16, characterized in that the co-diacid is selected from the group consisting of adipic acid, sebacic acid, azelaic acid, isoephthalic acid, dodecanedioic acid, and 3-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid.
18. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that PAODA provides at least 20% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s) present in the reaction mixture.
19. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that PAODA includes compounds of PAODA having molecular weights between 400 and 5,000.
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that the diamine compound (s) exclude diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl. twenty-one .
The copolymer according to any of claims 1 - 3, characterized in that the diamine compound (s) includes (n) diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl, however, the diamines of the formula H2N-R2-NH2 wherein R2 is C2-C6 hydrocarbyl provides less than 10% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s).
22. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that a weight average molecular weight of between 10,000 and 40,000, as measured using gel permeation chromatography with polystyrene as reference standards.
23. The copolymer according to claim 2, which includes a compound of the formula (3): (3) wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a polyalkienoxide moiety; R 4 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyalkienoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 100; and n is an integer of at least 1 1.
The copolymer according to claim 2, which includes a compound of the formula (4): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a portion of polyalkienoxide; R5 is selected from a hydrocarbon group having at least 4 carbons and a polyalkyienoxide moiety having a formula weight of at least 100; and n is an integer of at least 1 1.
25. The copolymer according to claim 3, which includes a compound of the formula (5): wherein, in at least one occurrence, R1 is a C6 carbocyclic group; R2 is a portion of polyalkienoxide; R3 is a hydrocarbon group having at least 2 carbons; and n is an integer of at least.
26. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that an amine number of less than 10 and an acid number of less than 15.
27. The copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3, characterized in that: a ) the copolymer had a softening point between 100 ° C and 140 ° C; b) CHDA provides at least 45% of the acid equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s); c) polymerized fatty acid is present in the reaction mixture, however, the polymerized fatty acid provides less than 25% of the acid group equivalents attributed to the diacid compound (s); and d) PAODA provides at least 20% of the amine equivalents attributed to the diamine compound (s).
28. A polyamide-polyether block copolymer having a softening point between 60 ° C and 180 ° C formed of a reaction mixture comprising one or more diacid compounds including polymerized fatty acid, and at least two diamine compounds including poly (alkylene oxide) ) diamine (PAODA) and short chain aliphatic diamine having 2-6 carbons (SDA), where: a) the reaction mixture comprises x grams of PAODA and y grams of SDA, and x / (x + y) is 0.8- 0.98; b) the reaction mixture weighs z grams, and x / z is at least 0.25; and c) the reaction mixture does not contain either co-diacid, or comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, wherein, if the reaction mixture comprises a minor amount of co-diacid, then the co-diacid acid equivalents they contribute less than 25% of the total acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture.
29. The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that the softening point is between 100 ° C and 140 ° C.
30. The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that the polymerized fatty acid is the only diacid compound present in the reaction mixture.
31 The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that co-diacid is present in the reaction mixture, however, co-diacid contributes to less than 10% of the total acid equivalents present in the reaction mixture.
32. The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that PAODA and SDA together constitute at least 95% by weight of the diamine compounds present in the reaction mixture.
The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that the diamine compounds include (n) poly (alkyleneoxy) diamine having a molecular weight of at least 400 g / mol.
34. The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that x / z is at least 0.3.
35. The copolymer according to claim 28, characterized in that x / z is at least 0.4.
36. A composition comprising a) a copolymer according to any of claims 1-3 and claim 28, and b) a compound, wherein the compound is a liquid at room temperature in clear form.
37. The composition according to claim 36, in the form of a gel.
38. The composition according to claim 36, characterized in that the compound comprises at least one chemical group selected from ester, ether, halogen, carbonate and sulfoxide.
39. A manufacturing article comprising a copolymer according to any of claims 1 -3 and 26.
40. An article of manufacture according to claim 39 formulated as a fragrance tube, an air freshener or a fragrance gel.
41 An article of manufacture according to claim 39 formulated as a personal care product comprising at least one physiologically acceptable oil.
42. The article according to claim 39 further comprising a surfactant having an HLB value between 4 and 20.
43. The article according to claim 39 further comprising at least one of a dye and a fragrance.